Son of my Blood
by Caelice
Summary: Vlad Masters, as revenge, stole Danny as a baby and took him in as his own son. What happens when Danny meets up with his real family?
1. Chapter One

**Disclaimer: **I own Eduardo, Rosalie, Sylvia/Legend, Pyro and the Titans

NOTES: I've rewritten the story. Well, not so much rewritten as I've gone over it, changed a few things, added stuff but the storyline and stuff that happens is pretty much the same. I just changed the age when Danny moved to Amity Park, added in some random extracts and hopefully gotten rid of the glaring mistakes.

Nothing major has changed!

Son of my Blood

Chapter One

Vlad looked at the baby in his arms. He had never held a baby before and seemed at a loss for what to do. He looked back at the house where the Fentons were sleeping peacefully, unaware that an evil ghost had just come in and grabbed their newest member of the family. His driver, a ghost friend of Vlad, was driving smoothly away.

Danny was only about three months old. He had a small tuft of hair on his head and was sleeping peacefully. Vlad looked at the baby, not sure what to do. He had never really liked children. To him they were always whiny and loud and annoying. Danny though, was just sleeping there, doing nothing. Vlad resisted the urge to poke the baby.

A few hours later the driver stopped and opened the door for Vlad. He didn't spare the baby a glance, but seemed to be slightly uncomfortable in its presence, his eyes averting Vlad's.

Vlad nodded at him and got out of the car, staring at his mansion. He was growing richer everyday and he loved it. He obviously had Jack to thank for that, but evil minds don't work that way.

"Gah," the baby said. Vlad looked down and noticed that Danny had woken up. The baby was looking at him curiously. The baby started to cry suddenly just as he entered the house. He sighed. He was starting to regret stealing the baby at such an early age. At least he had Sylvia, a friend of his. She owed him her life and he had asked her to take care of the baby. She knew all about his plan for revenge and though she didn't approve, she was Vlad's closest friend and had sworn to keep his secret.

"Sylvia!!" he called. A pretty young lady appeared in the doorway. Without a moment's hesitation she swept forward and snatched the baby from his hands.

"Is the sweetheart already acting up?? Oh what a cute baby. He's definitely going to be handsome when he grows up," she said, turning and walking off. Vlad followed her into the nursery she had helped set up. The nursery was yellow. Sylvia had absolutely refused on the traditional blue. She said it was boring.

"Aw, the poor baby must be hungry," Sylvia said. She started feeding him with a bottle that was sitting on a desk.

"Remember, if anyone asks, the child is yours. We had a one-night fling and you had a kid and we decided to raise it here-"

"As friends and not as husband and wife," Sylvia recited. Vlad glared at her.

"What?? I heard it a million times already," Sylvia said. "You know, I'm going to have to teach you how to take care of a baby." She tickled the baby. Vlad took the baby from her arms and looked at it.

"Well…it is kind of cute I guess," he admitted. The baby puked on him. Sylvia burst out laughing.

"Oh I love this baby already," she said, tears appearing at the corner of her eyes. Vlad scowled. "Get used to it Vlad, it's going to happen all the time." She deposited the baby in the crib, still giggling. Flicking her black hair back she gave him a dazzling smile. Vlad studied her.

She certainly looked like Danny, considering they both had black hair and blue eyes. Maddie and Jack didn't have blue eyes. Sylvia could certainly pass for Danny's mother at this age. He wondered what Danny would look like when he grew up. Would they still be able to pass him as Vlad's child or would he bear some resemblance to his real parents?? They would see.

"I'm going to go clean up," he muttered angrily. He could hear Sylvia cooing and Danny chuckling in a sweet, childish voice. Vlad rolled his eyes. No matter what Sylvia said about sharing the responsibility, there was no way in hell that he was going to change the baby's diapers.

"Oh, you certainly _are_," he heard Sylvia say sternly. He whirled around.

"How'd you know what I was thinking?" he asked, bewildered.

"You were wringing you're hands and scrunching up your nose just like you do every time I mention diapers or Jack Fenton," she said. He smirked, amused.

"Isn't it strange the connection I make between those two things?" he asked. Sylvia snorted. "Well, it's just hard to disregard the likeness. I mean, just _look _at-"

"Hey! You are looking at the spawn of Jack Fenton. By insulting Jack you could be insulting Danny as well. Maybe not now, but in the future they might bear a striking resemblance," she said wisely.

"Not unless Danny grows up to be a big, fat piece of-" he was cut off by an angry glare from Sylvia. "Ouch! Motherly instincts. I'd better scoot off." He waved his arms to protect himself, ignoring Sylvia's stream of angry curses. She seemed to have forgotten that she was holding Danny.

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Vlad couldn't help but look disgruntled as Danny giggled, grabbing at Sylvia's fingers. It had been two weeks and despite Sylvia and Danny seeming to have a very deep mother-son bond, Vlad seemed to be only there for Danny to puke on and, in a very recent and embarrassing memory, pee on.

"How is it you never get puked on and I do?? I feel like a basin," he muttered. Danny cooed loudly and reached for Vlad. Sylvia plopped him into Vlad's arms, looking smug.

"Because I'm too cute to be puked on," she said haughtily. Vlad laughed nervously. He was always scared of dropping the child. "Okay, now you take him back." He hurriedly tried to push Danny into her arms but she backed away.

"No way. This is _much _too entertaining," she laughed. Vlad glared at her so furiously but she just glared back. "Don't bother. I _always _win." Vlad groaned, tilting his head back. Danny giggled and poked his neck, eliciting a shriek from him. Sylvia giggled.

"Oh, very manly," she said sarcastically. Then she took Danny back. "You know I'm actually started to feel like a mother. I don't think I ever want him taken away from me," she said. She suddenly realized what she had said and her face closed up. Vlad knew what she was thinking and sighed.

"Sylvia, he ruined my life. He deserves whatever he gets," Vlad said softly. Sylvia sighed.

"Save it Vlad. I understand your anger…but taking a child??" she whispered. "It was easier to deal with this before, but now that I've gotten close to Danny…just the thought of someone separating me from him…"

"You're in this too Sylvia. Admit it, you think of him as your son even though he belongs to another. You did just as much bad as I did. And despite all your words of kindness and goodwill, you wouldn't take him back even if you had the chance," Vlad said harshly. Sylvia was silent. Vlad wanted to take back his words but found he couldn't.

"I'm sorry you see it that way Vlad. I'll leave now if you don't mind," she said stiffly. She stood up and left without another word. Vlad sighed.

"Well, guess it's just you and me now Danny. We'll have to change your name. Pity, Danny fits you so well. Well, I guess I could call you Danny. You could be Dante Masters, and people just call you Danny. Sylvia would like that. Dante was the name of her brother but he died in a car crash," Vlad said, rambling slightly. Danny cooed and grabbed his finger, clutching it tightly. Vlad smiled. "Dante it is." He put Danny in the crib and went to Sylvia's room. She was sulking, staring angrily at the corner of her room.

"Sylvia, I'm sorry," Vlad whispered, drawing up a chair next to her. She didn't answer him. "Oh, so I'm getting the silent treatment now." The corner of her mouth twitched slightly. She sighed and put her pencil down.

"Vlad, you know I'll follow you in whatever you do but it doesn't mean I feel good about it. We _stole_ a baby Vlad. You may be hurting Jack but you are hurting Maddie as well. Think about it Vlad," she said imploringly.

"I _have_ thought about it Sylvia. For years I have thought about nothing else. I _will_ get revenge. And if I cannot have Maddie then I will have her son. He will be my family," Vlad said passionately. Sylvia was silent for a minute. The she groaned in acceptance.

"Oh _fine_! This time you win. But don't expect me to always be bending to your will. I'm the sensible one in _this _family," she said. Vlad covered his mouth, willing himself not to laugh. She glared at him. "Oh! Well, isn't that nice? Get out!" She threw her pillow at him in mock anger.

"Yes ma'am," he said, then closed the door behind him. "Oh, by the way. I named him Dante." He called this out loudly. There was a second of pause, then the door opened and Sylvia looked out, her nose scrunched up in annoyance.

"Huh?"

"I named him Dante, after your brother."

"Yeah, but he _hated _that name," she said. Vlad sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Never mind! His name's Dante, and that's final."

"Yes ma'am."

"Shut up," he snarled, then whirled away, ignoring Sylvia's laughter echoing in the halls. "Stupid women. Stupid…women." He reached the nursery and peeked in through the door.

Danny was sleeping.

He smirked slightly. Then he looked down and closed the door, leaving the room in total darkness.

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And that's the first chapter, completely redone. And that took like, what, one day? Haha.

Once again, the Dante thing is just changing it so it won't be suspicious. Not that Vlad thinks Jack will be smart enough to make the connection, but maybe Maddie.

- Speeddemonrox


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

"How long has it been Vlad?" Sylvia asked, studying Danny.

"Well, he's almost one year old so that means he's been with us for about nine months," Vlad said. "His birthday's coming up in three days." Sylvia make a soft shrieking sound, making Danny giggle.

"That's right! It's almost somebody's birthday!" she gasped, bouncing the baby on her knee. Danny laughed and clapped his hands.

"Well, at least he doesn't puke when you do that anymore," Vlad noted.

"He never puked when _I _did it," Sylvia commented casually, a wicked gleam in her eyes. She lifted her chin up smugly, feeding Danny another spoonful of peas. Vlad sent her a withering look.

"He did once."

"Yeah, but I managed to turn around so that he puked on you instead of me."

"Don't remind me. You are _evil_," he said.

"And you're single."

"What? What does that have to do with anything? And so are you!" he spluttered. Danny laughed and pointed at Sylvia. "See? He agrees!" Sylvia pouted.

"Oh that's right. Gang up on me. You don't know what it's like, being the only woman in this family."

"There's a woman in the family? Where? I don't see her!" Vlad said, scanning the living room excitedly. Sylvia's glower made him laughed nervously. "I'm _joking_!"

"You're only young once, but you can be immature for a lifetime," Sylvia said wisely.

Vlad studied Danny, feeling happier than he had ever remembered being. He now felt like a father to Danny. Sometimes he even managed to convince himself that he was Danny's father instead of Jack.

"You seriously looking like his mother," he said. Sylvia's voice suddenly hissed bitterly:

"But I'm not, and I never will be," she hissed. He blinked. Where had that outburst suddenly come from? She stared angrily at him, then relaxed slightly. She looked down apologetically but said nothing, completely unlike her. She would usually never stop talking yet for a few minutes there was nothing but complete silence. It chilled Vlad completely.

"Sylvia?"

"Just…forget it," she muttered. Then suddenly she perked up, so quickly that Vlad was completely taken aback. "But I _do _look like him, don't I? Only difference is that he has Maddie's nose." Vlad stiffened at the mention of Maddie, but said nothing. Sylvia rolled her eyes when she noticed him do this. She picked Danny up.

"Stop obsessing over her. Get over it. She's married."

"Are you jealous?"

"What would you say if I was?"

"I would say that you're mocking me."

"Well duh," she snorted. Vlad chuckled. He did enjoy being with Sylvia. She was one of his oldest friends and always knew exactly how to lighten a situation. He had met her in the hospital. She had been a nurse, at that time. Now though, she was too busy taking care of Danny.

And of course, she said, she didn't need to work. She had _Vlad's _money.

Sylvia handed Danny to him. He smirked and started tossing him in the air. Sylvia glared at him but he ignored her.

"Look who's _flying_!" he said. Danny squealed as Vlad tossed him into the air once again.

"You know, I wish you would stop doing that. I mean, he could hit his head on the ceiling and get brain damage or what if you don't catch him and he falls on the floor and breaks his leg and gets gangrene from the infection??" she asked. Vlad laughed. She huffed loudly in mock anger.

"Do you think we could teach him chess? They say it will make him smarter." Sylvia stared at him. "What? It was just a suggestion. See Danny? Your dad makes very clever suggestions. That's why he's cooler. All your mom will do is give you stupid tips on how to paint your nails. As if her ugly face can be hidden by a good manicure." Sylvia reached out to whack him upside the head.

"_Dada_," Danny said. There was total silence. Then he shrieked and clapped his hands together, repeating the words over and over again.

"Did he-"

"I think he-"

"Get the camera!" Sylvia ordered. Vlad dropped Danny into her arms and ran to get the camera. He returned and began to film Danny, who was still delighted. He was beaming at his parents who were encouraging him.

"Dadadadada," he said. Sylvia kissed his forehead.

"Pure proof that he likes me more than you," Vlad said smugly. "He's saying 'dada'."

"Well, you never know. Maybe he's trying to say 'Dada is a stupid, smug idiot with a ridiculous beard,'" she said casually.

"Wow Sylvia. I'm impressed. Ridiculous is a big word for you."

"Ugh. Men!"

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Sylvia was running to Vlad's study, completely out of breath. Looking around to make sure no one was there she opened the door quietly. Then she stepped inside.

She walked straight towards the drawers in the corner of the room. She took out the key she had stolen and opened the drawer. There was a small wooden box. She opened it and immediately gasped as the paper fell out of the box and drifted onto the ground.

"Damn it," she hissed. The papers at the top were all articles. She scanned them quickly. They were all articles about Danny's disappearance. There were also letters that Sylvia had sent him after he had asked her to help him in his plan for revenge. Looking at them she could see that most of them consisted of huge capital letters with loads of exclamation marks in order to emphasize her shock and fury.

There was also a photo of Jack, Maddie and Vlad when they had been younger. Sylvia smirked when she saw that Vlad had scribbled over Jack's face and had an arrow pointing to his face with the word "_Tosser_". She saw that Vlad had drawn a heart around his younger self and Maddie. She snorted. How childish and high school.

She found a thick book that was almost bursting with photograph and messy writing. Vlad's journal.

She opened it and began to read, but before she could get to the end of the first paragraph the light switched on.

She turned around, her eyes widening at the sight of Vlad standing in the doorway. His eyes were dark with rage and his face was incredibly pale. She opened her mouth to explain, hundreds of thoughts racing through her head. She had never felt so terrified of him. She stood up, dropping the papers. He fingers fumbled to pick them up.

"_Don't_…touch them," he snarled. His voice cut through her like a sword and she froze.

"I'm…I'm sorry Vlad. But I had to know…had to-"

"_Get out_." His voice was icy with hatred.

"O-okay, but-"

"No. Get out of this house. I want you out of my life. I want you out of _Danny's _life," he said bitterly. She paused, feeling dread come over her. She felt tears welling up in her eyes.

"Wh-what?" she stammered.

"Leave this house. Leave your things. I'll have Othello pack them up after you've gone. He'll send them to wherever your new address is. You can take the car. I don't care. _Just get out_."

"You-you can't!" she spluttered, feeling tears running down her eyes before she could stop them. A soft sob escaped her as she felt like she was being torn in two. "Don't do this Vlad. You know you'll regret it."

"I can't trust you Sylvia. And that means that I can't have you here. I know you won't reveal what I've done. I can trust you enough to keep silent, at least. But you don't have to be Danny's mother anymore. _You've outgrown your usefulness. Now leave_." And with that final order the conversation was over. Sylvia was openly crying now. She turn and ran down the hall, not bothering to muffle her cries of pain and hurt.

Vlad watched her without a single expression on his face except for the scary blankness. He felt a twinge of pain as she disappeared around the corner and suddenly found it difficult to breathe.

He spent the next two hours pacing the nursery, wondering if he had done the right thing. Sylvia had left a while ago and Vlad had not heard from her. A thousand possibilities were going through his head. It was raining heavily outside and he knew that the moment Sylvia had left he would regret this for the rest of his life if he didn't get her back. He missed her so damn much!

His cell phone rang loudly, jolting him out of his trance. Danny blinked and looked up at Vlad expectantly. Vlad smiled at him sadly.

"That's Sylvia, I'll bet," he sighed. He snapped open the phone. "Sylvia?"

"_Vlad, I-"_

"Oh God Sylvia! I've been needing to talk to you!"

"_No Vlad. I've been thinking a lot about this the past hour. I've been driving around in circles and I'm still driving. I need to say this."_

"But-"

"_No Vlad!" _he heard her hissing angrily. He said nothing. _"You're not going to stop me. I'm going to say what I need to say…I'm not Danny's mother. I'll never be, no matter how much I try and convince myself that I am. I've been thinking about this for the past nine months. There's no changing who Danny really is. You can convince yourself as much as you want that you deserve Danny, that he is rightfully yours, but you know the truth as well as I do. Danny belong to Jack and Maddie."_

"If you're going to tell the police," Vlad began, scowling furiously but Sylvia interrupted him.

"_Are you crazy? I'm not cruel. I know you need this one. It's the only thing keeping you sane. If I took Danny away from you you'd be beside yourself with anger. You'd hurt everyone in your path. I'm not willing to do that to you. But I can't live like this. I know you regret what you said Vlad. I know you too well. But I'm not coming back."_

He felt like he was being snapped in half. She wasn't coming back. She was leaving him alone.

He had never felt so lonely and helpless in his life. Even when he had gotten that terrible case of ecto-acne and everyone had made fun of him and he'd been forced to retreat away from the world. He had still had Sylvia.

"Please…oh God please…I can't do this without you. I can't take care of Danny," he begged.

She was crying now. He heard her sniffing.

"_No. I-I can't."_

"You _are _Danny's mother. Blood doesn't mean a damn thing. You've taken care of him longer than Maddie has. He's you _son_."

"_Don't do this Vlad. Don't make this hurt more than it already does. Don't be a bastard." _

"He needs you. _I _need you. You've seen how terribly I handle him," he joked. He heard her chuckle.

"_That's true. I have to…have to…" _Suddenly Vlad stiffened as he heard the screeching of brakes. Suddenly there was a scream and a crash so loud that it echoed across the room. Vlad stared at the phone, completely stunned. A shudder of fear ran through him but he felt too numb to notice it.

It had happened so fast that…

He put the phone to his ear, pressing it against his head so tightly his ear stung.

"Sylvia?" his whispered in a small voice. "S-Sylvia?" He said it softly, then louder and louder until he was nearly screaming it. His voice was hoarse with desperation and his eyes were bloodshot. Danny began to cry, sensing the tension in the room. When the was no answer Vlad howled angrily and hurled the phone against the wall. It broke in half and clattered to the floor.

The only sound that could be heard was Danny's wailing.

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The police called three hours later. He had to travel down to the police station to identify the body.

It had been her.

Of _course _it had been her. He was being punished for being so damn cruel to her. This had been the last straw. Life had decided to make him pay for all the cruel things he had ever done.

The next day was Danny's birthday. Danny had sat on the floor, surrounded by a pile of presents but even his sweet curiosity couldn't lift Vlad's spirits. He watched as Danny ripped the wrapping paper from all the boxes. Sometimes Vlad had to help him but he seemed to know his way around the presents, not satisfied until he had seen every single one.

Vlad could only sit and watch him, feeling empty, as if there was nothing inside him. When Danny turned to him and began babbling in baby speak he attempted to act cheerful but when Danny wasn't looking his face crumpled and he would sigh sadly.

It was the loneliest birthday he had ever been to.

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Okay, this chapter was almost COMPLETELY rewritten. I took the chapter and rewrote everything. The plots were still the same. Sylvia's death, Danny's birthday and whatnot.

Next chapter, Danny's much older and already getting into loads of trouble. And Ember makes an appearance!

- Speeddemonrox


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Danny leaned over and dipped his fingers into the cool water of the lake. The water rippled slightly. He shivered with excitement. Pyro mewed. Danny ignored him and leaned dangerously near to the deep water. Danny was quite a good swimmer for his age, since Vlad had been training him quite well. Even so, he wasn't allowed to swim anywhere without adult supervision.

"Shush Pyro. Dad's friend's guard dogs might hear you," Danny whispered urgently. Pyro lay on the grass and stretched, ignoring him. Danny rolled his eyes. He looked at the large rock protruding from the wall on the other side of the lake. The rock was like a diving board, and Danny couldn't wait until he could dive off it.

Danny loved water more than anything. But the lake was something special. Instead of being light blue, the lake looked like a swirling vortex of green. Danny knew it was probably the reflection of the trees, but the lake always seemed to be moving in a perfect circle. He loved to watch the lake move. It was so…beautiful.

He heard a loud growl and stood up quickly as Pyro shot off into the woods, in the direction of the mansion. Danny, stepped backwards warily, not sure what to do.

"Who's there??" he asked. He stepped forward.

Despite only being about eight years old Danny was already a brave kid. He loved exploring the forest and was used to the dangers. But it didn't mean that he couldn't be careful and wary of what was lurking in the shadows of the trees.

Without warning a great shadow appeared and lunged towards him. Danny screamed as the figure smashed into him, causing him to fly backwards a few feet. He landed heavily on the grass and groaned.

"Ouch, I think I broke something," Danny muttered. He got a good look at the figure and scowled. "Oh man. Constantine you dumb dog!!" He pushed the dog roughly away.

_Dumb, stupid dog, _he thought furiously. The large Doberman snarled and tried to push him back down. Of all the dogs his father's friend owned Constantine was the biggest, the meanest and the dumbest. Constantine ignored him and trotted off, his head nodding up and down as he walked. Danny was feeling considerably grumpy that his peaceful morning had been interrupted.

He stepped out of the clearing, which was hidden by the large bushes. He had once seen his father stepping in and out of the bushes, and he had gone to explore. That was how he had found the clearing. He knew that his father hid it from him for a reason, but he didn't know what that reason was. Maybe the lake was dangerous. He didn't care. The lake was too special to stay away from.

Turning from the clearing he walked for a few minutes, weaving side to side expertly. Finally he reached a huge tangle of bushes and lifted an enormous leaf. He peeked inside. The creature inside was making no noise. He wasn't fooled though. He could almost sense the creature's restlessness and anger.

"How are you today?? Sorry I couldn't get you any food but Othello and his guard dogs were here today so they might smell me out," he said softly. The creature snarled and tried to jump forward. Danny didn't move. He felt his heart thumping with terror. The creature snarled again and Danny stepped back. The leaf fell back in its place and the creature was silent once more. Danny didn't know what to do.

Making up his mind he turned and walked to the mansion. He would get the creature some food later. He opened the front door to the mansion and stepped inside. Looking around to make sure no one was there he closed the door silently and tiptoed up to his room. Pyro was waiting there. The cat jumped up and curled around his neck. He smiled.

"Let's hope Dad didn't notice I was gone. He'll probably find out if I don't change soon. That stupid dog ruined my clothes," Danny said, looking mournfully at his yellow t-shirt and blue pants. He pouted slightly. They were covered in mud and paw prints. He quickly changed, throwing his clothes into the laundry basket.

He knew that his nanny Sofia would keep his secret. Sofia knew about his little trips to the forest. She never told Vlad even though he wasn't allowed into the forest. His father was so rich their forest was so big you could get lost in it. Vlad had forbidden him to go in their for fear he would get lost, but he didn't listen.

"Oh wait, my shoes are in Dad's study," Danny said, slapping his forehead. He rushed out into the hall, nearly knocking into Othello, the owner of all the dogs. Othello smiled at him widely. It was not a friendly smile.

Othello wasn't a bad person, but he had, as Vlad called it, split personalities. Danny didn't know what that meant but he didn't like it.

"Hello Dante," he said. Danny shivered. Othello insisted on calling him Dante, which he hated. The name sounded so…old. "Have you by any chance seen Constantine or Decker??" Othello's eyes narrowed. Decker was his favorite dog, who was also one of the meanest, next to Constantine. Danny was about to answer that he had seen Constantine but not Decker in the forest when he remembered that he wasn't allowed in the forest. Othello couldn't be trusted. Sometimes he kept secrets, sometimes he wouldn't hesitate to sell them out.

"No. Maybe they went exploring again," Danny said, shrugging. Othello stared at him piercingly. Danny looked down quickly. How he hated those grey eyes. He quickly stepped to the side and walked off, not bothering to say goodbye. He didn't like Othello. The man was so pale…like a ghost (1). He shivered. Othello's body sometimes flickered a little bit when he was angry, like he disappeared or something. Danny walked quickly towards his father's study, Pyro trotting behind him. He could hear voices coming from his father's study now. He stopped at the door and put his ear to it.

"We had a hard time getting to it. They had special weapons of course, but we won in the end. They trashed my guitar though," a familiar voice was saying. Danny frowned. Where had he heard that voice??

"I can get you a new one. Are you absolutely sure that this will activate the portal??" another voice asked. Dad, Danny mouthed to himself.

"I have no idea. That's what Technus said. It's supposed to do that, but I'm not really sure it will work. It's worth a try," the other person said.

"It had better work. I've been looking for this for months. Nearly a year. Ever since I came across the inactivated ghost portal I have been searching for a way to open it. If this doesn't work it'll be months of planning down the drain," his father said. Danny opened the door and peeked in. he saw his dad talking to a very familiar teenaged girl.

"Auntie Ember!!" he shrieked, running forward and throwing himself around her knees. (Hah, I made Ember an Auntie!! But not by blood, of course.)

"Small fry!! There you are. I didn't see you when I came in," Ember said, picking him up and whirling him around. He squealed and hugged her tight. Vlad had raised his eyebrows and looked displeased.

"Danny, how many times have I told you not to interrupt me in a meeting??" he said. Danny looked down, sensing his father's displeasure.

"But Dad I heard Auntie Ember and…" he looked ready to cry. He hated it when his father was angry with him. Vlad sighed. He could never be mad at his son.

"Alright. The meeting was over anyway," he said. Danny noticed him drop a small cube in the drawer and closing the drawer. "You can go with Ember," he said, sighing in resignation. Danny and Ember cheered. Danny rushed forward to hug his dad and ran out with Ember.

"Thanks Dad," he cried before disappearing out the door.

"So Small fry, how've you been doing??" Ember asked, ruffling his hair. "Still breaking the rules??" She too knew about Danny's little visits to the forest. Danny blushed slightly.

"Yes. The lake is just too pretty," he muttered. Ember chuckled.

"Could you show me there??" she asked Her fiery blue hair lit up the hallway as they slowly walked down. Ember seemed to be limping. Danny nodded eagerly.

"All right Auntie Ember," he said eagerly. He had been dying to show it to someone, especially his Auntie Ember.

"Stop calling me Auntie. It makes me sound old. And I'm not really your Auntie anyway. Just call me Ember," she said. "Hey, did you finally get a tattoo?? You know that loads of women love men with tattoos." She poked him teasingly as they walked out the door.

"Girls are annoying. Except you Auntie Ember," he said, hugging her. He only reached up to her waist. He was quite short.

"Stop calling me Auntie, Small fry," she said.

"Stop calling me Small fry, Auntie," Danny challenged. Ember laughed.

"Deal," she said. Danny straightened up proudly and started to head into the forest, Ember following after him.

"Danny, how far is this thing??" Ember asked warily. She knew that the forest was full of dangerous things. Vlad had many allies of all kinds. Not only ghosts, but also witches and goblins and mythical creatures like unicorns as well. It was hard to believe, but it was true. A few of them took shelter in the forest because Vlad let them. They would never even humor the thought of harming Vlad, but anyone else, even Danny, would be immediately killed. They didn't like trespassers, even though it wasn't even their forest. When Danny had asked his father about this Vlad had said "You try reasoning with a bloodthirsty, vicious cave troll."

"Danny??" Danny asked. Ember looked at him and smirked. His little face was scrunched up in concentration. She chuckled inwardly. Danny seemed very serious for eight-year-old. He stopped at a huge mass of bushes. Ember tilted her head curiously.

"The lake's here. But…I also have something else to show you," he said. A look of fear and something else flittered across his face. Ember wondered what it was that he wanted to show her. Danny moved into the bushes and was consumed by the lush greenery. Ember hesitated before following.

She stepped into a clearing and was dazzled by a bright light that hit her. She shielded her eyes and looked up, but the trees covered the sun. She looked down and to her amazement the light was coming from the lake itself. It was a beautiful green light which twinkled and shined beautifully. Ember couldn't help but gasp. Her hair burst into fire and she suddenly felt so…alive. She felt immortal and beautiful. She felt like nothing could hurt her, like she would never be sad or angry again.

She stared at the lake. It was so gorgeous, so beautiful…yet so familiar. She frowned. She had seen this before, but she wasn't sure where.

"Oh wow it's so…" she whispered. Her eyes widened in horror as the light dimmed slightly and she got a good look at the lake. The lake itself was a swirling green vortex. The water was moving very slowly around in a perfect green circle.

Danny was splashing the water playfully. He looked even more alive than ever. It was the magic of the lake. Ember, once she recognized what the lake was, suddenly didn't feel so alive anymore. The magic of the lake slowly stopped affecting her. Ember stepped forward, not wanting to go any nearer to the lake than she already was. She took Danny's arm and pulled him away. He followed reluctantly.

"Danny, it's beautiful. But I never want you to come here again," she said sternly, looking very serious. Danny hadn't seen her this serious for as long as he could remember.

"What?? But…but why??" he whispered, not daring to talk loudly in the presence of the lake. He felt tears welling up in his eyes. He _needed _the lake. He couldn't stand being taken away from it.

"It's dangerous Danny. Never come here again. Now show me the thing you wanted to show me," Ember said, hoping to steer him away from the lake. The magic of the lake seemed to disappear as Danny's face paled considerably.

"O-okay," he stammered. They walked out of the clearing. Ember prepared herself for the worst. It couldn't be as bad as the lake though she thought. How wrong she was.

"I was walking to the lake one day and I got lost. I got really scared I didn't know what to do and I started wandering. And I came across this place where three really pretty witches were sitting in a circle and chanting really loudly. And I sneaked up on them, which wasn't hard 'cause they were really concentrating. And I heard these growls and screams and it was really creepy. Then one of the witches stood up and said, "We should be safe now. He is trapped and will probably starve to death." And another one on the ground, the prettiest of them all said, "But what if someone finds him and feeds him??" The other one was really silent but then the third one stood up and said "Only people who have witnessed the spell can look through the magic barrier of the cave." What's witness Ember??" Danny asked.

"It means to see something," she explained. They walked on and Danny continued his story, looking very serious. For a second Ember thought that he seemed years older, but then shook her head. She had to be imagining it.

"And then they left. And I walked into the clearing and saw a huge bunch of bushes and vines and stuff. And I just had to see what was behind it. Because it felt magical. Almost like the lake, but not in a good way. It made me feel scared. And it made me feel like crying and calling for Dad. But I didn't. And I was really scared 'cause I could hear growling and snarling and breathing. And I pushed away the leaves and looked inside," he stopped. They had reached a huge tangle of bushes and vines. Ember eyed them warily.

"Yes, I see what you mean," she whispered. She felt terrified, curious and cowardly at the same time. She wanted to call for her mother or father but she couldn't. She was too curious.

"I looked inside and I saw this," Danny said softly. He took the leaf in the corner and pulled it away, revealing what was inside. Ember peered inside. There was a huge cave. And she could hear breathing and snarling. She trembled. Then, before she could prepare herself she caught sight of the creature Danny had wanted to show her.

"Oh God Danny what the hell have you gotten yourself into??"

00000

This is pretty much the same.

Oooh, mystery of what's in the cave. Lol, most of you already know anyway. I have to admit, I love seeing Ember as an 'Auntie'. It's too cute, with her teaching his to be badass and encouraging him to get a tattoo.

- Speeddemonrox


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

It had been even years. Eight years since her baby brother had been taken away from them, leaving a hole in their lives. Or at least, her parent's lives.

Jazz had barely known her brother. She had been two when he had been taken away and had been much too young to remember anything about him. All she had of him were photos. They were all framed but had been put away. Jazz's parents had said it was too painful to look at them. Jazz couldn't see what was so painful about a picture. It was after all, just a picture. It wasn't her fault. She had been much too young to think of him as a brother. And she hadn't spent enough time with him.

She had already read many books. And in a lot of books whenever older sisters or older brothers saw newborn siblings they would always feel happy or fall instantly in love with the cute little baby. When Jazz had looked at Daniel she had felt…nothing really. Maybe even a little disappointment. She had thought that the baby would be shining with light and warmth and maybe even have a little halo over his head. But…nothing.

"Hello Jazz, how are you today??" Maddie said softly. Jazz smiled, but said nothing. Her mother had always spoken softly ever since that day. She and Jack had spent practically their whole life in that lab and Jazz was starting to feel a little ignored. She didn't need so much of their attention, but it would have been nice for them to take notice once in a while.

She was smart. _Very _smart. But her parents, other than the occasional compliment, never really commented on it. Every time she came home from school with a really good mark on a piece of work her parents would congratulate her and then she would notice their eyes sliding over to the picture of Danny.

"Look Jazz, I've made a new invention. The Fenton Ghost snatcher. It will trap any ghost that it senses," Jack said. He pressed a button and a net shot out and flew over Jack, trapping him. "Oops, I guess we need to fix it up a bit." He turned and went back to his lab, Maddie following him.

Jazz stared after their retreating forms. Once they were gone she left the kitchen and headed towards the living room. She opened a drawer and took out a few framed photographs. They were all of Daniel. Her little brother. She tilted her head slightly, wondering if they would look different at a different angle.

"Little Daniel. I think I miss you a little bit now. All my friends have baby brothers or sisters. Except Tanya of course, but she has a big brother. I don't know if I'll like you if you ever come back, but at least you'll make mom and dad happy. You couldn't even talk and you caused so much grief in our family. Mom barely even talks anymore. She's like…well, a ghost. She sort of drifted down the halls and looked really pale," Jazz whispered.

"And Dad. He went into his lab and trashed all his weapons. I came into the lab and saw him and started crying, because the noise was making me scared. I remember a lot of this even though I was so young. Mom and Dad have never been the same. They live in their lab now. And I have had to do everything myself. I even have to cook for myself when Mom and Dad forget. Where are you? Why did you leave? Was it something I did?"

Nobody answered.

00000

Ember found herself staring into the eyes of an enormous silver dragon. She was frozen for a second, not sure what to do. The dragon's grey eyes peered angrily into hers and narrowed. It grunted loudly and swiped at her with its claws. She screamed and stumbled backwards but there seemed to be a barrier in the entrance of the wall that stopped him from touching her.

"It's okay, it can't hurt you," Danny said, though he looked also fearful. But there was something else. There was awe in his look. "I found it in here, but it was really small and not so mean. And…and I couldn't let it starve Auntie Ember I couldn't!!" He seemed to be pleading for forgiveness. Ember shushed him loudly.

"Were you expecting a dragon??" Danny asked curiously. Ember shook her head.

"I was expecting some butt-ugly cave troll from the sound it was making…but a dragon. They're really rare. And a _silver _one too," she whispered. Silver dragons weren't just rare. They were legendary. Known for their viciousness, cleverness and beauty they were common subjects for many myths and legends among ghosts. Ember dwelled on these thoughts. Danny whispered her name but she didn't hear. Then he pushed aside the leaf and disappeared inside.

"DANNY!!" she screamed, wondering how he could be so crazy. Without hesitation she followed inside and came face to face with the dragon. She felt her knees go weak and her breathing become shallow from fear. She found herself suddenly praying for her life. In her head she could hear thoughts just whirling around. She knew ghosts couldn't die since they were already dead, but she seemed to forget all about that.

"Auntie Ember, it's okay. He's not going to hurt you!!" Danny said, hugging her legs. She looked down. His eyes were still shining with fear, but now awe was written all over his face. Ember calmed down slightly. She looked carefully at the dragon. It was growling loudly, glaring at her.

"He doesn't hurt anyone when he isn't hungry. And I just gave him something to eat yesterday, so it usually lasts him a while," Danny said. Ember could only stare in amazement. Pyro appeared through the leaves and mewed. The dragon growled again but otherwise didn't do anything. "And it doesn't hurt Pyro too. But I'm still scared of it. I'm trying to…tame it." Ember looked down at the young eight year old. He was so young but so adventurous and brave. Ember sighed. Danny would probably be crippled or die at such a young age if he kept doing crazy things like this.

"Danny, I understand that you couldn't let him starve, but…" Danny interrupted her.

"I did something bad. Really, really bad. I…I was running from Decker, that dumb dog of Othello's. And…and I didn't know what to do. The dog was really mean and he hurt me," Danny pulled up his shirt to show bite marks. Ember frowned. Danny was holding his shirt just below the chest but Ember could see a bit of blood there too. She tugged on his shirt to reveal his chest and gasped. There were four huge claw marks on his tiny chest. They were obviously made by the dragon. He grabbed his shirt and pulled it down.

"He was hungry and I didn't give him anything to eat. It was my fault, not his!!" Danny cried. Ember could only wonder as to why Danny would defend the creature that had hurt him.

"Danny, did you show anyone?? That could get infected!!" she said. She had almost forgotten about the dragon when it snarled and snapped at Pyro suddenly. Pyro shrieked and jumped out. Danny's eyes widened.

"Oh no. Get out!!" he screamed, pushing Ember through and jumping forward just in time to avoid the dragon's large white teeth. They tumbled forward and landed together. Ember gasped loudly. Pyro had climbed up a tree and was hissing loudly. "He does that when he's hungry. It's not his fault though." Ember resisted the urge to smack him upside the head.

"But anyway, I was running away from Decker and then I got the idea to bring him to the dragon's cave. I didn't want him to get hurt!! I just wanted to scare him," Danny said, tears running down his cheeks. "And I jumped into the cave. That was when the dragon scratched me. And then Decker jumped in too. And the dumb dog didn't run away. It just stared at the dragon. And then it attacked it. I didn't want it to do that!! I just wanted it to leave me alone." Danny was sobbing uncontrollably now.

"Danny, where's Decker??" Ember asked softly. Danny gestured tearfully to the tangle of greenery and for the first time Ember noticed something that she hadn't seen before. Blood. It was on a few of the leaves, barely visible, but there. Ember felt sick. Instinctively she shielded Danny's eyes and turned him away, even though it was a bit too late for that.

"I saw everything," Danny whispered. Ember led him away. She didn't know whether she should be angry with Danny and tell Vlad, or keep his secret. Danny seemed to sense her anger and was quiet. They walked in silence for a while.

"I have to tell your father," she said softly. Danny looked up at her, his eyes pleading.

"You can't Auntie Ember. He'll kill the dragon!! And he'll be so angry with me. He'll hate me," Danny finished, pouting and looking at the ground. Ember's face softened slightly.

"He won't hate you Danny. He's your father."

"But the dragon's my friend," Danny pouted. Ember stared at him in amazement. "It's true! I don't have any friends here. 'Cept you, but you don't come round a lot. It lets me pet it sometimes and I think it's getting to like me." Ember groaned. She was always irresponsible, just like when she had been alive, but with Danny she felt like a mother sometimes.

"Alright, I won't tell him but you must promise me two things," Ember said. Danny nodded eagerly.

"First, tell Sofia what you've been doing so if you ever get hurt she can take care of your wounds. Also tell her when you're going and you must be back at least thirty minutes before she can start to worry," Ember said. Danny nodded. It sounded reasonable.

"And second. Never, ever on any circumstances visit that lake ever again," she said. Danny's face fell. There was a moment of silence. They reached the edge of the forest. Ember faced Danny, kneeled before him and held his shoulders tight. "Say it Danny. Say you will never visit that lake again." She looked at him, boring into his innocent blue eyes. He was shivering.

"I…I can't," he whispered. He tore free from her grip and ran towards the front door. He disappeared behind it, leaving Ember standing at the edge of the forest, alone. She sighed. She was torn between keeping Danny's secret and telling Vlad. She walked inside the mansion and towards Vlad's study. She could hear him talking to someone. Without bothering to knock she walked in and sat on the chair looking glum. Vlad turned to her, looking annoyed. His expression changed to worry.

"Where's Danny?? Is he okay??" he asked.

"He's fine," Ember muttered. The other residents in the room were Technus and Skulker. She raised her eyebrows slightly. Skulker seemed to be wearing some ridiculously enormous armor.

"Nice armor Skulky," she said sarcastically. He glared at her but said nothing. Vlad sighed and rolled his eyes. Ember glared at him.

"Will you get on with it already??" she said irritably. Vlad shot her a glare.

"As I was saying, the portal is quite dangerous to open, so Skulker I want you to bring your guns. Not the ones that kill, they will be useless against a ghost. Technus, are you absolutely sure that this will activate the ghost portal??" Vlad asked, holding up the cube.

"Yes. I, Technus, Master of-"

"If you can't say a simple yes or no just nod or shake your head," Vlad snapped. Technus looked annoyed, but cringed as Vlad glowered at him furiously. Vlad looked at the cube in his hand.

"Are you sure that this will work??" he asked. Sulkily Technus nodded. Vlad smirked, satisfied.

"I'll call Deni. She'll be here by tonight," he said, reaching for the phone.

"What do we need her for??" Skulker asked.

"The portal isn't just any ghost portal. It's a legendary ghost portal. It can only be opened by magic," he said. He was interrupted again when he reached for the phone.

"Then what to we need that gizmo for?? That certainly isn't magic."

"The portal was deactivated by Deni's grandfather who thought it was too dangerous to be kept open. She cannot activate it without a part of the person who deactivated it in the first place. This 'gizmo' as you call it holds his preserved heart," Vlad said irritably. Ember made a noise of disgust. Vlad, before anyone could say anything else, grabbed the phone and dialed a number.

"Hey Deni, it's Vlad. Yes, it's ready. Yes, bye," Vlad said.

"Alright. We'll activate it tonight."

00000

Danny glared grumpily at the wall. The wound on his chest was stinging. He had told Sofia everything and she had cleaned up his wound. Unfortunately the wound stung even worse than ever and he was started to regret telling her. Pyro was snuggled up beside him, purring softly. Danny twitched slightly.

He hated this feeling. It came every time he was away from the lake. It had become an obsession, like smoking or drugs. Except this was magic and Danny craved it.

"It couldn't be as bad as Ember says…could it??" Danny asked Pyro. The cat was struggling with his shirt. Apparently his tooth was caught on the hem of the shirt. Danny made an impatient noise and pushed Pyro off the chair. Pyro yowled and slinked away angrily. Danny sighed softly and slumped lower into his chair.

"I have to go," he muttered. He tried to convince himself that he was just going to see it one last time. "Yea…one last time." His stomach clenched and a voice in his head was screaming the word _liar_. He ignored it and moved towards the window. Carefully he slid down the shaking pipe and landed in the soft mud. Smirking he headed towards he forest. The sun was already setting behind the trees, and a warm glow was seeping through the forest.

He headed towards the lake, feeling slightly anxious for some reason. As he reached the lake he went past the leaf. He was met with an amazing sight.

Vlad and three other people were standing on the other side of the lake. One girl was right next to the lake. Danny recognized her. Her name was Deni. She was a pretty, perky girl who never passed up a chance to spoil him rotten with gifts and presents. She was always very nice to him. The three people next to Vlad looked uncomfortable and nervous. One of them was Ember. Another one looked like some sort of machine whose head was on fire. The last one looked normal except for the fact that he was _floating_. Danny gasped in amazement as the man floated casually, looking grumpy and sulky.

"Give it to me," Deni said. Her voice was far from perky. In fact it was solemn and serious. Danny tiptoed sideways, towards his father. Vlad reached out and dropped a cube into Deni's hand. Deni carelessly dropped it into the lake. Danny gasped as the lake shimmered with black light and suddenly black smoke drifted towards the witch. She looked lost in her own world, desperately trying to concentrate.

"Vlad, it's getting too strong," she cried as the black smoke hit her, sending her stumbling backwards slightly. Vlad looked like his mask of calm was breaking slightly. Ember took a step back. She looked a lot more vulnerable without her guitar. The floating man was hiding behind a tree while the huge machine had two enormous guns in its arms.

"Do not shoot. It will kill her," Vlad said. The machine nodded.

"I won't shoot," it said. Danny watched as the black smoke curled around Deni, squeezing her. It drifted into her ears and nose and mouth. She screamed in pain and terror but somehow managed to lift her arms and throw the smoke back.

"I can't hold it Vlad!! It's not working," she cried, tears pouring down her cheeks. Vlad looked panicked.

"Keep trying Deni," he cried. Danny could see that if Deni kept going the black smoke would probably kill her. He tried to silently creep towards Vlad but even if he had screamed out loud now it wouldn't be heard over the Deni's wail. Her scream, made even more powerful by magic, sent all of them flying backwards. Vlad smashed into a tree and stayed there, looking dazed. Danny scrambled forwards just in time to see the black smoke slam into her. It disappeared inside her. Her eyes glowed black with evil.

"_So, Vlad Masters. You thought you could activate the legendary ghost portal, going against the will of the most powerful mage on earth??_" she shrieked, turning around. Her voice had turned deep, like a man's. Danny had seen enough movies to know that Deni was now being possessed.

"_I see that my worthless granddaughter has tried to help you. That pathetic excuse for a witch will never be able to open this portal. Do you think that I, the most powerful mage ever to walk this wretched world would easily allow you to open what I poured my soul into closing?? No!! Never!!_" Deni screamed loudly. "_I shall be rid of you, silly meddlers who try to grab power whenever they can!!_" She glowed, her aura pulsing dangerously as a white light surrounded her. She screamed loudly and, before Danny could move, sent a bright beam towards Ember and the other two. They were both blasted backwards, but seemed to only be stunned.

She then turned to Vlad.

Before Danny knew what he was doing he jumped forward, running as fast as his thin legs would carry him. Deni glowed slightly, then let off another beam. Vlad was too stunned to do anything. Danny raced forward and pushed his frozen father out of the way of the beam. His mind was thinking only one thing.

Into the hands of fate.

_(He's a phantom!)  
(Danny Phantom, Danny Phantom!)  
Yo Danny Masters, so long it seemed,  
When his father had a dangerous scheme.  
A lake which held a world unseen!  
(He's gonna catch 'em all, 'cause he's Danny Phantom!)_

But the lake was strong, was filled with magic  
But Danny saved Vlad and took the hit.  
There was a great big flash, everything just changed,  
His molecules got all rearranged!  
(Phantom, Phantom!)

When he first woke up, he realized,  
He had pure white hair and glowing green eyes.  
He could walk through walls, disappear and fly!  
He was much more unique than the other guys.

And then he knew what he had to do:  
He had to stop all ghosts that were coming through.  
He's here to fight for me and you!  
He's gonna catch 'em all, 'cause he's Danny Phantom!  
Gotta catch 'em all, 'cause he's Danny Phantom!  
Gonna catch 'em all, 'cause he's ... (Danny Phantom!)

00000

The moment we've all been waiting for. Halfa Danny!!

- Speeddemonrox


	5. Chapter Five

This is a totally new chapter. I added it in because it was floating in my mind. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter Five

Vlad listened carefully to what the doctor was saying.

"He will be fine. There seems to have been no side effects from his accident. By the way, may I ask what happened?" the doctor questioned. Vlad shrugged innocently.

"I honestly have no idea," he lied. "Othello found him on the edge of the forest, unconscious but unhurt. When he didn't wake up, no matter how much I shook him, I grew worried and called you up." The doctor nodded. Vlad nearly sighed with relief. The doctor seemed to buy his story.

"Just let him rest. Don't allow him to do anything too strenuous. And I'd advise keeping him out of the forest. It's no place for a eight-year-old child," the doctor said sternly. He spoke to Vlad for a few more minutes before finally leaving. Vlad returned to Danny's room, feeling slightly sick.

Ember was sitting on Danny's bed. Danny was lying on a pillow propped up against the wall. He was chattering cheerfully as if nothing had happened. Ember was nodding but her face was tight with misery. They hadn't noticed him, so he stayed in the doorway and waited.

"Are you okay, Ember? You're looking weird," he said.

"Danny, I thought I-" she suddenly spotted Vlad and her face stiffened with guilt, as if what she had been about to say wasn't something he would approve of. Danny looked up.

"Dad!" he said delightedly, putting his hands out. Vlad, unable to stop himself, swooped forward and picked him up. He hugged him tightly, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Why the hell did you do that?" he hissed, but not angrily. He was too relieved to be angry. "You shouldn't have pushed me out of the way." Danny jumped down onto the bed, looking hurt. His eyes were big and watering with unshed tears.

"Are you…angry at me?"

"No…I'm just…worried," he said. "I'm glad you're okay." He ruffled Danny's hair. Danny beamed at him and then began chattering again.

"Did you see that _cool _white light? It was like…_awesome_! I mean, I'm a hero! And I feel totally not tired. I wanna go out! I wanna run! I wanna-"

"No matter what you 'wanna' do, you're going to rest for a few days," Vlad said sternly. Danny whined and complained but Vlad didn't budge.

"But sleeping is boring! I wanna go out and ride my new bike! I wanna try out skateboarding! I wanna go swimming! I wanna get high on reefer!" Danny cried excitedly.

"Excuse me?" Vlad spluttered. Ember blushed furiously. "You're telling him to get high on reefer?"

"No. I told him to get a tattoo. The reefer was _his _idea," she said, defending herself quickly. Vlad rolled his eyes.

The door slammed open to reveal a very perky, very cheerful Deni. She was dressed in bright, colorful clothes and was looking happier than ever.

"How's my favorite little weirdo?" she called out. Pyro darted in after her, curling up on Danny's lap.

"Pyro!" he cried, stroking the cat's fur. "What's up Deni? You okay after what happened?" He smiled at her. She grinned back.

"Oh yeah. Man, that knocked me out. I've only been possessed three times but I gotta say, that was the worst. You wouldn't believe the things he was saying to me in my head. God, he's got a fouler mouth than my mom. 'Course, that's where she got it, but _still_," she said. Then she looked around at the others who were staring at her. "What?"

"Um…nothing," Vlad said, shaking his head. "Are you sure you're okay? I mean, that was some pretty powerful magic you were dealing with. Are you-" Deni faltered suddenly, frowning slightly.

"Wait…" she said. "You're right. I feel…dizzy…I feel like…I'm going to faint…" She passed out dramatically onto Danny's bed, causing Ember and Danny to giggle and Vlad to glare at her. "Stop being such a worrywart."

"Never mind. Danny, _rest_. Ember, Deni, watch over him," he ordered. They both nodded.

"Yes sir."

"Shut up."

"Yes sir." Vlad left, looking pissed off. Deni snorted.

"Party pooper," Deni said, pouting slightly. Then she turned to Ember. Her face was completely serious. "Now, we have to deal with the real issue here." Danny looked up, smiling slightly.

"What? What issue?" Danny asked innocently. Deni pointed to his legs.

"_That_ issue," she said. He looked down. He saw nothing there.

"Um…there's nothing there," he said. Ember was staring in shock.

"_Exactly_," Deni said. It took a few seconds for Danny to realize what he was missing.

"Where the hell are my legs?" he nearly screamed. Trembling he reached down and felt his legs. They were still there; just not visible. Gaping he prodded his legs. He could still feel, that was a good sign.

"But, he can't be a ghost," Ember protested. Danny nearly laughed.

"A ghost? What are you talking about?" he snorted.

"He's a halfa. Half ghost, half human," Deni said. "Thanks to the ghost portal his molecules have rearranged. In due time and with proper training he'll be able to do things that ghosts can do. With the exception that he'll be able to transform back into a human." Ember raised her eyebrows.

"Well, isn't that a coincidence. The only other halfa I know is-" she stopped as Deni's eyes widened and she shook her head wildly. Danny caught this motion and frowned.

"What? A halfa? I don't get it. And what happened to my legs," he asked.

"They're invisible honey. Just concentrate on making them visible again," she said, then turned back to Ember. "You and I will have to train him. I don't know about you, but I'm not willing to tell Vlad."

"Why not?" Ember asked, frowning. She thought that Vlad should know. He _was _Danny's father, after all.

"Well…" Deni looked uncomfortable. "I don't want to make assumptions, but what if Vlad tried to use Danny's powers. To use them for his own cause. I mean, I'm not saying he'll do that. He loves Danny, of course, but you never know. He might try to enhance his powers, thinking that he's helping but in truth he could be hurting him." Ember nodded.

"Well, I guess that makes sense," she said.

Danny was listening to them. He was beginning to piece things together. What he knew so far was that he was half ghost, half human. He wouldn't have believed it before but it wasn't _so _farfetched considering trolls and unicorns and witches lived in the forest and he owned a pet dragon. He frowned. He had to check up on the dragon.

He concentrated on becoming completely visible again. With quite a bit of effort. He smiled as his legs appeared almost instantly.

His joy was short lived when he suddenly fell through the floor halfway. He shrieked. Deni and Ember jumped.

"Oh my God!" Ember cried. Danny was halfway stuck.

What he didn't know was that if Vlad, who was in the room below him, had looked up he would have seen a pair of legs hanging from the ceiling.

The situation would have been laughable if Danny hadn't begun sinking.

"Help!" he cried. Deni sighed as Ember struggled to pull him back up.

"This is going to be a crap load of work."

00000

_Three years later_

00000

Danny stared at the black-haired woman in front of him, completely stunned beyond reason.

"You're…you're my mother," he said slowly. She nodded.

"And you're my eleven-year-old son," she said, studying him. He blinked, then nodded.

"Uh huh,' he said. He licked his lips. "What are you…aren't you dead?"

"Ugh! Don't talk to me about death!" she cried suddenly, throwing her arms up so suddenly he jumped back. "Once I was released from that damn ghost portal I wandered this goddamned place for about two years. I tried overshadowing a bunch of animals, silly Dobermans but that creep with the grey eyes kept noticing me and shooing me away. In the end I found this dragon and overshadowed him. It was much easier than I expected."

Danny could only stare.

"You're…my mother…you're a…ghost?" he asked.

"Technically I'm a spirit. Ghosts become ghosts because they're not allowed to travel to the afterlife. I stayed back by choice. In order to redeem myself. Therefore I'm not a ghost, I'm a spirit on a mission," she said wisely.

"Redeem yourself? What did you do wrong? Dad never mentioned…" he trailed off, still completely confused. She perked up.

"Vlad? How is he? Gosh, haven't talked to him in ages. Of course, I only woke up about two years ago. Time passes quite quickly when you're a spirit. Surprising isn't it? But I was constantly flitting in and out of existence. So I'd pop away and return and about three months had passed without me realizing it."

"I'm confused," Danny said. His father had mentioned something about his mother being an incredibly random and chatty person but _this _he had not expected. His mother, Sylvia, blinked.

"Oh! Of course. Darling I'm so sorry!" she sat down on the cave floor. "I was your mother, true, but I'm not now. I'm simply a spirit. I'm pretty much Sylvia's soul. I call myself Legend nowadays. I'd prefer it if you called me Legend. And I'm here because I was sent to protect you in order to redeem myself and get a free pass to the other side."

"Oh," Danny said. Well, he felt like things had cleared up slightly. "But you said that you chose to stay here."

"Oh yes. But the more good things you do on earth, the quicker you pass onto the other side. Since I did some…regrettable things in my youth I'm meant to stay here for approximately four hundred and twenty eight years unless I redeem myself by helping you. This is my only chance so, fingers crossed." She grinned eagerly and Danny did too. Legend's mood was incredibly contagious.

"You overshadowed my dragon, right?" he asked.

"Yeah. Thank God it was a shape shifting dragon."

"A _what_?"

"Yes. But it didn't use its powers because there was no point, I'm guessing. Thankfully I managed to shape shift though. Being stuck in dragon form is _not _my thing. Though I'm stuck in this damn cave. Come here, I want to take a good look at you," she said, reaching out to him. He complied happily.

His _mom _was standing in front of him. Granted, it was his mom's spirit, but it didn't matter. She was here and he couldn't be more amazed. He had never seen his mom except in pictures. She had been about twenty-six when Vlad and her had had him. Vlad had been three years older than her. She didn't look a day older than the pictures he had shown Danny. Of course she hadn't aged. She was a _spirit_.

"My goodness, you look _exactly _like me. Except you're a boy, of course," she said, giggling. Danny grinned. "So…you're a halfa, hmmm?" He nodded.

"How'd you know?"

"I've been watching you. You've been training with Deni and Ember haven't you? My goodness, you've been progressing quite quickly haven't you? I've seen you're flying. You're like a _rocket_. And you're ghostly wail! Vl-I mean, the other halfa didn't discover that until…well, almost seven _years _after he got his powers," she said, quickly correcting her mistake.

"Who is this other halfa?" Danny asked. He was eager to know. Deni and Ember had mentioned him a few times but other than comparing Danny to him, he knew next to nothing about this person.

"Nuh uh. Zipped lips."

"Please tell me!"

"Sorry, I don't speak English," Legend said innocently. Danny pouted.

"So, what have I missed in the past ten years of your life. No girlfriends, I hope?"

"Yuck, no!"

"Why not? Cute kid like you should dating."

"You're saying the opposite of what Dad says," Danny laughed. "He says I'm too young to date."

"Well, your dad's a virgin. Don't listen to him."

00000

And I've reintroduced Sylvia as Legend. Before I rewrote this, in my original I kind of stuffed Legend into the story without explanation. Well, here's her explanation: redemption.

And excuse the complete randomness of Legend. She insists on being like that. She thinks it's badass. I can't stop her.

- Speeddemonrox


	6. Chapter Six

And now we're introducing Tucker and what seems to be Sam. Though you can't tell…she's so _weird_.

All of this rewriting has taken me what, two days? And the only reason I'm working so hard on this is because the alternative is revising. Lol.

Oh and Danny is thirteen right now. It's been five years since he got his powers. And three since he's met his 'mom'.

Chapter Six

"We're moving." Those two words made Danny spill his milk all over his pants. Pyro hissed and jumped off his lap, trying to shake milk out of his beautiful black fur.

"We…we're what??" Danny cried, not noticing the milk all over his pants.

"We're moving. We leave tomorrow. I already had packers come in while you were in school and pack the things we need. We won't be taking all this junk. Othello will take care of it. You just need to pack the clothes you want. I had a new and better uh…business offer in Amity Park," Vlad said. Yea right, he thought grimly. He despised lying to his son but he couldn't tell Danny _"Oh I've devised an evil, cunning plan in order to take over the world and I need to move to Amity Park cause they've got a whole bunch of ghost crap I can use."_ That just sounded stupid.

"A better business offer? But you're rich? Why do you need…" he seemed to be at a loss for words now.

"I'm sorry Danny, but you'll need to go to a new school, make new friends. I've enrolled you in Casper High. You're thirteen now, so you'll be in Grade…Eight, right? Well, anyway, we're moving in two days. Say goodbye to all your friends – the _real _ones, not the pretend ones - and pack up what you can carry," he said, watching the emotions on Danny's face carefully.

Danny was torn between feeling excited and feeling terrified. On one hand, he didn't really like his school here. Nobody really liked him because he was always disappearing off to fight ghosts. Plus they all thoughts he was weird, and envied the fact that his Dad was so rich.

But he didn't want to leave Legend and Ember and Deni. He knew that Deni and Ember might visit – they visited less frequently ever since he had begun mastering his powers. He no longer made mistakes such as turning intangible accidentally, but he still wasn't so good at controlling his ghostly wail or duplicating himself. Not that he tried that hard.

But Legend wouldn't be able to visit. At all. And he had become so close to his mother – more as a friend then as a mother, but still. She was the only person he coud tell _everything _to.

"I…don't _want _to move," he said slowly. Vlad hugged him gently.

"I'm sorry son, but there's no choice. I'm sure you'll love Amity Park," he said encouragingly.

"Yeah, sure," Danny muttered bitterly once his father had left. There was a flash of blue light and he transformed into his ghost form before shooting off. Pyro mewed then began to run in the same direction where Danny had flown off.

Danny shot through the forest like a rocket. He felt the wind blow past him and resisted the urge to sigh loudly. He loved flying so much. And especially flying at this speed.

He had managed to reach this speed only after very intense training. The only problem was that even though he could fly this fast his reflexes weren't fast enough. He had too often crashed into a tree, not being able to turn intangible quick enough. He'd tried being intangible and flying this fast at the same time but it was too tiring.

As he rocketed through the forest he suddenly came face to face with a familiar tangle of bushes and he screeched to a stop, turning back to his normal form. He tried to land on his feet but toppled forwards and went straight through. He came face to face with a furious silver dragon. He let out a shriek and stumbled backwards, his arms flailing wildly from fear. He watched, breathing heavily as the dragon slowly morphed into a beautiful black haired woman. She was laughing hysterically, leaning against the wall for support.

"Honestly!! The look on your face," she choked, snorting with laughter. Danny glared furiously at her.

"Shut up Legend!! That wasn't funny," he snapped, pouting angrily. Legend wiped the tears from her face, still chuckling softly.

"Oh yes it was. And you deserved it. I was waiting for four days for you to come," she said, whacking him upside the head. He yelped as her white dress trailing behind her. She picked at a hole in her ragged jeans.

"Do you know how boring it is being a spirit And I have to stay in this dreadful cave," she said, snorting. Danny rolled his eyes. "Well, what's the news? You looked like you were in a rush." She sat on a small ledge and looked at him pointedly. Danny sighed. Sometimes, Legend acted like a child even though she was in her lat twenties – but she had 'lived' longer than that.

"We're moving. Dad has a new and better business offer in Amity Park and he wants us to move there. It's so unfair," Danny said. Legend stood up. Pyro suddenly appeared amidst the tangle of bushes. He looked quite sulky at being left behind. He jumped on a ledge and curled up.

"What?? He's making you move?? But you can't move," she cried angrily. Danny nodded, his messy hair bouncing up and down.

"I know, but Dad wants us to move. He made fun of my social life," Danny whined. Legend chuckled.

"I see he's trying to fill my place. I used to tease him about his social life. Or lack thereof," she muttered, looking amused. She sighed, sitting down. "If I could find a way out of this cave…I hate being this dragon, but Othello's damn spells are stopping me from overshadowing any of his dogs and they're the only animals that are close enough. Why your father lives in the middle of nowhere is beyond me. I can't go too far in my spirit form. I keep reappearing back here."

"What am I going to do?" Danny cried. "I don't want to leave you!"

"Well, you're not very happy here are you?"

"Well, my school is crap, but other than that…"

"We'll figure something out, but until then I don't think we have a choice. You're going to that school whether you like it or not," she sighed. Danny let out an angry groan. Legend's eyes slid over to Pyro for a second.

"You should go back Danny," she said. Danny, knowing his father might be looking for him, nodded and turned back. He headed outside. He exited the tangle of bushesAs he headed back he went past Othello who was still calling for his dog, Decker. Danny rolled his eyes. Even after all these years Othello was convinced his dog was just hiding. He felt slight pity for Othello, who had taken to staying up night and day to search for his dog. Unfortunately that pity dissolved whenever Othello went under his window and screamed for Decker, deliberately waking him up.

He had reached the edge of the forst when he suddenly heard a loud mewing sound. He looked down.

"Hey Pyro. What's wrong? You sound different," he asked, picking the small black cat up. Pyro moved his head near Danny's ear.

"Hey hun," he said in a girl's voice. Danny gaped.

"L-Legend??" he stuttered. Pyro smirked. I can't _believe _I never thought of overshadowing Pyro! How stupid was that? Anyway, this way we can always be together," she said. Danny smiled. He was going to love having her around. "Now, you can't expect me to sleep in that ridiculous cat basket of Pyro's. Get me a real bed!! And no disgusting cat food. And don't you dare try and make me chase after mice. And don't you have a stress ball or something around?? Where's the food?? I'm starving!!" Dany sighed.

Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

00000

"It's not that bad," Legend purred, looking at his new school, Casper High.

They had moved here about a week ago and Danny had only started school today. He was eating lunch by himself and was looking slightly disgruntled.

"You've got to be kidding me. I already have three teachers on my back, a pile of homework, no friends and to top it all of I've already been targeted for some frequent bullying," he snarled.

"Well, at least the lunch is good," she said. Danny could only stare at her. She reached forward and gulped down a piece of the so called 'meat'. She spat it straight out.

"I am sorely mistaken," she gasped, looking at the repulsive piece of meat. Danny glared at her.

"Oh sod off," he snapped. She only glared back.

"Just trying to be friendly," she said. "I don't know why I even bothered coming when I could be at our new home, sleeping it off." She turned and sulked off. Danny went into the school, feeling slightly grumpy.

"Hey Masters, catch!!" Danny turned and felt something slam into his face with a considerable amount of force. He fell backwards onto the floor, gasping slightly.

_Great_, he thought savagely. _My first day here and I'm already being pushed around._ He scowled at the older boy, Dash Baxter. Normally he would have grabbed the offending person's arm and thrown him to the floor, but Dash Baxter was strong. Too strong. Danny could already see that Dash would flatten him in a second. He sighed, slowly getting up. One day he would humiliate the stupid bully. But for the moment, he didn't want to make his reputation worse than it already was.

"Nice catch Masters," Dash laughed. Danny scowled and walked away, pouting slightly. In his anger he nearly walked into a tall, innocent looking blonde girl and another kid who was fiddling with some electronic gizmo. Danny stopped at his locker. The girl stopped too. Her locker was right next to his. He opened his angrily and shoved his books in. When he closed it the girl was looking at him. He glared at her angrily and she quickly turned away.

"Come on Sammy, let's go," the other boy said. (Sammy?? Hahah, poor Sam). She waved him off.

"One second Tucky," she said, turning back to her locker. Danny snorted softly. Tucky?? What kind of a name was that??

"I told you to stop calling me that. It's Tucker or Tuck," 'Tucky' said, pouting. "Are you going to come over for Thanksgiving??" The girl laughed suddenly.

"Tucky the turkey!!" she snorted. Danny chuckled as he watched them. The girl was wearing a bright pink shirt and yellow pants with fluffy sides and light blue trainers (just how many things can I force on poor Sam?? Let's see shall we??). Her hair was blonde (does Sam dye her hair?? Because her parents have blond hair) and she was wearing all sorts of pink girly jewelry. Tucker was simply wearing a yellow shirt, red pants and a ridiculous beret.

"Samantha the panther," Tucker shot back. Sammy pouted.

"No. Panthers are mean. I want to be a rabbit," she snapped. "A pink rabbit, with flappy pink ears and fluffy fur." She looked so angelic when she smiled. Danny grinned, his face lighting up with boyish innocence. He watched them eagerly from behind his locker. They were definitely his age, but much less mature. Of course, he did have ghost powers and grew up with a father who was a billionaire and intent on making him super smart.

"Okay, fine. You can be the bunny rabbit and I'll be the panther. But are you coming over?? Mom is making the turkey this year. She didn't want to last year because Dad wasn't there but now she is," Tucker said. Sam gasped.

"I _love_ turkey," she cried.

"Hey Fowley, catch," a familiar voice cried. Danny felt someone crash into him. He slammed back into his locker door and saw stars. He noticed Tucker lying next to him, looking even more dazed.

"How about that?? Two losers with one punch!! Or whatever the saying was," Dash hooted. The other kids laughed. Danny scowled furiously and Tucker blushed. Sammy looked angry.

"Leave him alone," she snapped. Dash smirked. Danny tried to get up but his head was throbbing so painfully. He wanted to help the girl. Dash was known for beating up anyone, even girls.

"Ooh, she's a toughie isn't she?? Well, we're going to change that," Dash said, snickering. The others didn't look so enthusiastic.

"Dash man, that's a girl," Kwan said nervously.

"What do you think she is?? A duck??" Dash snapped sarcastically. Kwan backed away quickly. No one was stupid enough to mess with Dash. Dash, grunting softly, turned and struck Sammy in the face with the flat of his hand. She fell back onto the ground. Tears appeared in her eyes. Dash laughed loudly. A few nervous chuckles were heard from the others. Danny felt rage overcoming him. How _dare _he!! Without warning he shot up and before he knew it, his fist came into contact with Dash's nose. The bully shot backwards, tumbilng into the others. A sharp pain traveled up his arm.

"You freak!! You broke my nose!!" Dash cried, his nose bleeding profusely. Danny could barely see through a haze of red.

"You deserved it," he muttered. A teacher appeared in the hall. She looked at Danny, then at Dash and scowled.

"Both of you go immediately to the nurse. I think that earns you both a week's detention. And I'll be calling your parents," she said, her eyes blazing with anger. She grabbed them by the shoulder. Danny turned back. He saw Tucker standing up gingerly and Sammy helping her friend. She looked at him and mouthed the word 'thanks'. He smiled back.

Maybe Casper High wasn't so bad after all.

00000

This was barely changed at all, except for Danny's age. I changed his age so he now goes to Amity Park at the age of thirteen for various reasons.

- Speeddemonrox


	7. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

"Let me get this straight," Vlad said, rubbing his forehead and looking furious. "On your very first day of school you got into a fight, got three warnings all from different teachers about your attitude and nearly broke your hand?" He slammed his fist onto the table, his eyes red with rage…literally. Danny noticed this but said nothing. He wondered why it happened. No one else's eyes flashed when they got angry. Only his. This niggled at the back of his mind, but quickly went away when Vlad grabbed his shoulders and started shaking him.

"You are just asking to be punished!!" Vlad shouted angrily. Danny yelped. Vlad stopped shaking him and sighed in disgust. "What's wrong with you Danny?? Why can't you just _try _to make friends and be good??" Danny didn't say anything, still a little dizzy. He couldn't really blame his dad. He had been getting really stressed in the past few days. Danny didn't know why, and he didn't really want to find out. His father's job bored him.

"But I _did _make friends!! This girl Sammy was really nice to me. She came to see me at the nurse's office and said thank you!! And then she asked if I wanted to hang out with her and her friend Tucker!!" Danny said angrily. Suddenly Vlad's rage disappeared and a mischievous glint appeared in his eyes.

"A girlfriend eh??" he said, grinning. Danny blushed furiously. He had thought Sammy was pretty, but he had pushed it out of his mind as quickly as he could.

"She's not my girlfriend," he protested, frowning.

"Sure she isn't," Vlad said innocently, chuckling at Danny's red face. Danny pouted and crossed his arms.

"She's not my girlfriend," he protested. "But can I please hang out with them tomorrow after school??" He put on an innocent look. Vlad laughed heartily.

"Sure you can, just be safe and don't go anywhere dangerous," he said, ruffling Danny's hair. He seemed to have forgotten about his anger. Danny shrieked and tried to swat his hand away. Suddenly Vlad's cell phone rang. He sighed and picked it up.

"Vlad Masters here, who is it??" he said, unable to keep the irritation out of his voice. Danny heard the words 'ghost' and 'portal'. Vlad paled slightly and walked out of the room. Danny took this as a chance to exit. As he walked out Legend joined him.

"He's talking 'bout the portal again," he muttered. Legend nodded. Danny had often overheard private conversations, mostly about ghosts and ghost portals. He wondered what his father was doing without telling him. He should have felt hurt that Vlad was keeping secrets from him, but he himself wasn't exactly spilling his guts to his father. Vlad didn't know that Danny was a ghost, didn't know about Legend and didn't know that Danny was constantly trying to eavesdrop on him. He also didn't know that Danny, in Wisconsin, had seen a ghost once while in his bedroom.

"Do you think it's about the Wisconsin ghost??" Danny asked. Legend suddenly looked uncomfortable. Danny, being very observant, had always wondered if she had known something about the Wisconsin ghost. He sighed inwardly. Everyone was keeping secrets from him.

"Maybe. But let's forget all about that. Why don't-" she was interrupted when Danny breathed a blue wisp of smoke. Before she knew it Danny had changed into Danny Phantom and had flown off. She called for him but he had already disappeared. She sighed. "Kids."

Meanwhile, Danny had shot off the moment he had sensed the ghost. He had seen the ghost passing the window and had immediately recognized them. The most annoying of ghosts ever had made an entrance into his life ever since he had moved. He flew towards the ghost, who still hadn't noticed him. Without hesitation he slammed into the ghost, the momentum carrying them both forward. Danny stopped short of hitting the ground, but the Box Ghost kept going and fell flat onto the grass. He recovered and turned around.

"I am the Box Ghost!! Beware!!" he shouted. He looked around for anything shaped like a box, but there was nothing. Danny gave him no time to run. His fist slammed into the Box Ghost's jaw and then he repeatedly kicked and punched him. The Box Ghost didn't stand a chance. Even though Danny wasn't very strong he was fast. Also, the Box Ghost wasn't very intelligent.

"Why do you keep coming back you stupid ghost??" Danny snarled, punching him with every word. The Box Ghost put up his hands to defend himself. He managed to hit Danny on the nose. Danny stumbled backwards, stunned slightly. The Box Ghost cackled.

"I have defeated you!! I am the Box Ghost!! Beware!!" he shouted.

"Oh yeah??" Danny snapped. He dodged an oncoming punch from the ghost and punched him in the stomach. The Box Ghost fell backwards. He stood up, ready to attack. Then he suddenly decided to give up.

"Beware!!" he shouted before flying off. He moved slightly slower than usual.

"That was quick," Danny said to himself. He smiled proudly at his small success. He had fought only two ghosts since he came here. One of them hadn't come back. The Box Ghost, unfortunately, was terribly persistent and stupid. Danny encountered him almost everyday.

"I wonder if Sammy's at home," Danny muttered, getting ready to change back. He thought about going to her house. He didn't know her at all but he already felt like she was his friend. He had, after all, helped her. Before he could change back however something slammed into him, propelling him backwards. He shrieked and fell to the ground ungracefully.

"Maddie!! I got him!!" someone shouted excitedly. "I hit him!!" He turned around and gasped as a shadow covered him. A large man was looking at him with a proud smile on his face. He was wearing a blue jumpsuit. He was also holding a large gun at his side. At this moment the gun was pointing straight at his head. His eyes widened in terror.

"Yes Jack, but don't let him get away!!" the woman next to him said, pointing a gun at Danny. She was wearing a blue jumpsuit. She was quite pretty with violet eyes and red hair. Danny felt like he'd seen her before. But he didn't have time to think about where.

She fired the gun and with amazingly quick reflexes he dodged the small red orb that shot out of it. She fired again as he tried to fly off. The orb missed him by inches. The woman shouted out in anger. The man, without hesitation, threw a small object at him. It was a small sphere. Too confused to dodge it, the sphere hit his leg and exploded immediately. He screamed in pain and shock. It was a small explosion but it had been touching his leg and he was sure that there was a hole in his leg now.

"I'm sure I didn't program it to do that," the man, Jack, muttered as Danny fell to the ground in agony. The woman, Maddie, ran up to him. Her face was ecstatic, but as she came up close her eyes bulged with shock. She froze, staring in amazement at the ghost in front of her.

"Grab him Maddie, before he escapes!!" Jack shouted. Maddie stared at Danny in disbelief. Danny was sobbing in pain now, tears running down his face as he clutched his leg. His body was screaming at him to turn back to human, but he couldn't let these people see who he was. It was too dangerous.

"Maddie, what are you doing??" Jack shouted, grabbing Danny's arm to stop him from escaping. Danny suddenly realized how much danger he was in. These people were probably ghost hunters. Maybe they were going to experiment on him and beat him up. He sobbed harder at the thought. He didn't want to be taken away from his father. He didn't want to be experimented on.

Suddenly Jack looked uncomfortable. Up close the ghost simply looked like a normal child, despite the silver hair and the black and white jumpsuit.

"Does it hurt??" Maddie finally asked. Maternal instincts seemed to come over her. Here was a child, crying in pain. Ghost or not she couldn't just let him suffer. Her mind was telling her to help the poor child while her common sense was telling her to knock the ghost unconscious and bring it back to the lab.

"Y-yes," Danny managed to choke out. His leg was still as painful as ever. He could see a huge burn on his leg. The explosion had burned a hole in his jumpsuit. "Please don't hurt me!! P-please let me g-go!!" He couldn't see their faces. His vision had gone blurry from all the tears. He wanted to cry for his father but he couldn't talk. Maddie nodded. She stood up.

"Let him go," she said to Jack. Slack-jawed, he stared at her. His first ever ghost capture and she wanted to…he couldn't even bring himself to think it. Danny, on the other hand, felt so relieved he wanted to cry even harder.

"But Maddie…" he said weakly. He couldn't believe what she was doing. She picked up her gun and slowly walked back to a large silver van that Danny hadn't noticed before. She carefully placed the gun in the van before walking back.

"He's a child," she said firmly. Danny started to calm down. At least he had stopped crying.

"He's a ghost," Jack muttered, but with less conviction. He himself was slightly shaken. He looked at the ghost. As much as he tried to deny it, it still felt as if he had attacked a young boy. He's just a ghost, he thought to himself. He wasn't very good at persuading himself. Even so he still held on to Danny. He didn't want to let go. The very first ghost.

"I said let him go," she snapped. With some difficulty he let go of Danny's arm. He looked longingly at the ghost. Then he sighed and stood up. He stormed towards the van, his hand still clenched tightly around his gun. Maddie couldn't take her eyes off Danny. Something about him was just…familiar. Maybe she was just being silly. He stared at her with wide, fearful eyes. She almost considered bandaging up his wound. Then she cleared away the thought. She wouldn't go as far as that for a ghost.

"You're lucky, ghost. But if we ever meet again, I promise that I won't be so kind," she said. He nodded and she knew that they had come to some sort of agreement. She had been merciful, but she was the predator and he was the prey. His eyes were wide and he stared at her. She suddenly felt like hugging him. His eyes were too innocent for him to be evil. He was too small and too much like a child to hurt anyone. Quickly she turned away and walked stiffly to the car. As she opened and door and sat down she felt a tear trickling down her cheek.

She didn't even know why.

Danny watched the van drive away. He suddenly realized he was holding his breath. He let it go and fell backwards onto the grass, wincing slightly. It had occurred to him that it might have been a trick, but as he waited nothing happened. He felt the burn on his leg become a painful throbbing but it wasn't as bad. He could stand it. He stayed on the ground for a few more minutes. He wasn't ready to get up yet. His father wouldn't notice him gone. He was allowed to go explore the new place, as long as he came back by six thirty.

"Who were they??" he said aloud. Nobody answered. Then he suddenly remembered that he was still in ghost form. He changed back quickly. He then stood up and slowly limped towards the park bench. He was still confused about what had just happened. It had all happened so quickly that the events were muddled.

He knew those two people. He had seen them before. He was sure of it. But where?? The thought was nagging at him. He closed his eyes and tried to think. But at this moment he was just too tired. He couldn't think. He sighed softly and lay down on the park bench. He could just close his eyes for a few minutes. It wouldn't do any harm to rest. After all, he was just so…so…tired…

He fell asleep.

00000

Oh my God! I'm only one chapter left from having redone all the chapters that I've already written. And then it's on to the next chapters! YES!!!

- A very happy Speeddemonrox


	8. Chapter Eight

**Disclaimer: **I own Eduardo, Rosalie, Sylvia/Legend, Pyro and the Titans

NOTES: I've rewritten the whole story! If you've been following the story I suggest you reread it because I've changed a few chapters. Some are almost exactly the same while others are completely different.

I've changed it so that Danny moves to Amity Park when he's THIRTEEN and he's been there for three months in this chapter.

Chapter Eight

Danny had been at Amity Park for three months now. He had bonded very quickly with Tucker and Sam, mostly because he had never had real friends his age before, and he was amazed by how much they could relate to him – not the ghost powers, but everything else.

"So how was hunting yesterday?" Tucker asked. They were walking toward Sam's house.

Yes, Danny had revealed his secret to Sam and Tucker about a month ago. He had expected them to stop being his friend, maybe even tell everyone else. But they had been completely excited about it and had immediately pestered him about every single detail of his ghost side.

"Hunting was terrible. Three new ghosts decided to wreck the park. They nearly crippled the hot dog vendor and an old lady. I was so exhausted I fell asleep on the side of the road in a box. I only remember waking up at three in the morning because a homeless guy was kicking me and telling me to get out of his bed."

"And what did your Dad say this morning when you came back??"

"Nothing. He hadn't even noticed I was gone all night," Danny snapped, looking annoyed. He hated the fact that his father was always distracted nowadays and never seemed to care about anything except the business meetings he had with the mysterious strangers who visited once in a while.

"So what did they look like??" Tucker asked curiously. Danny was getting slightly tired of his constant questions. He sighed loudly and described the ghosts. They reached Sam's house. Tucker reached for the doorknob, but before he touched it the door opened and a black-haired, sullen looking girl opened it, standing in the doorway. She was wearing purple stockings, black boots, a black tank top and a green, short skirt. Her hair was tied up and she had her hands on her hips.

Danny and Tucker glanced at each other.

"Uh…hi…are you Sammy's…cousin??" Danny stammered, looking at this slightly scary girl. She frowned.

"Is she here??" Tucker asked, looking past the girl. The girl stepped forward, slamming the door behind her.

"Oh my god," she snarled. They stepped back. Tucker tripped and landed on his butt.

"You don't recognize me??" Danny realized it before Tucker. His eyes bulged and his eyes flashed green from horror.

"_Sammy??_" he gasped. She raised her eyebrows, looking annoyed.

"It's Sam, if you please," she snapped, stepping down from the stairs. "And FYI, I'm no longer the girly girl I was before. I'm a Goth. And a vegetarian."

"What's a Goth??" Danny asked.

"What's a vegetarian??" Tucker asked.

Sam launched into this incredibly longwinded explanation. They kept walking. Danny looked around to see if anyone was staring. Everyone who recognized Sam was staring, completely shocked by the girl's appearance. He blushed slightly, a little bit embarrassed to be seen with this creepy, crazy girl talking loudly about cruelty to animals. Tucker cleared his throat as they neared school, interrupting her rant.

"We're in school," he muttered. She glared at him, furious that he had interrupted her.

"And furthermore, I'm thinking of having a protest against the machine because…"

Danny zoned out.

They reached school quickly. The jocks were having fun pushing around some of the younger kids so they quickly avoided them and went around the school and entered from the side.

Danny had trouble during school because he was having so many power surges. During gym he tried to kick a football a number of times, the result being his foot going through the football and him giving up in pure disgust. The rest of his team wasn't too happy about that.

Sam was constantly on his back about eating meat. Even more than Tucker because the other boy was simply a hopeless case.

"Look, do you realize how much animals suffer just to feed you?? Some animals, chickens especially, spend their _whole, damn life_ in a cage. They spend their lives in the dark, never seeing the sunshine, and-" A blue mist suddenly escaped Danny's mouth. Sam and Tucker looked around instinctively for any sign of a ghost.

A few minutes passed and nothing happened.

"Was it…a false alarm??" Tucker said, eyebrows raised. Sam looked around and shrugged.

"Seems to be," she said. Danny searched around. There was a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, telling him that something was very wrong. Nothing happened, and the silence just made him feel more nervous. He was itching to turn into his ghost form, but there were too many people around. Maybe if he dived onto the table…

"What was that??" Sam asked suddenly.

"What was what??"

"That noise…that weird…screeching sound."

"I didn't hear anything."

"But I did!!" Sam insisted. She shook her head, her black hair falling gracefully around her face. Danny was still amazed by her hair. It was just so dark, and he was much too used to the blonde hair that she used to have. It was just so different, and the Sammy he knew had hated anything dark and had adored meat. And…was she wearing makeup??

"Are you wearing makeup??" Danny blurted suddenly. Sam, still listening for the screeching noise, jerked her head up to look at him. She reached up to touch the purple lipstick, then blushed.

"Yes. Yes I am." She avoided his eyes. "And furthermore, I threw out all my dolls. And all my stupid, fluffy clothes. And my pink, feathered blanket." Tucker and Danny gasped.

"But Sammy, you _love_ that blanket!!" Tucker said. Danny nodded in agreement.

"Please don't tell me you threw out Mr. Fooferbumps!!" he pleaded, closing his eyes in despair and mock drama.

"No," Sam said, her bravado faltering slightly as she thought of her childhood stuffed toy. Danny and Tucker sighed in relief. "But Mrs. Woozerbucket is dead to me now!!" Danny and Tucker pretended to faint, falling back in horror. Sam groaned at their silly antics while they mocked choking on the ground.

"Hey Masters!! What happened?? You girlfriend finally tell you she's breaking up with _both of you_??" Dash said loudly. The other boys' snickering lead him on. He was about to say more but Paulina distracted him momentarily. Danny finally got serous, sitting up and looking at Sam worriedly.

"Sammy…"

"Sam."

"Sam…first you dye your hair, then you give up meat, then you change all your clothes, then you get rid of all your precious stuff _and _Mrs. Woozerbucket?? What's going on??" he asked, frowning at her. She sighed.

"I'm turning a new leaf. I'm going to change," she said stiffly, pouting out her chin. Danny rolled his eyes.

"Yes, I _know _that, but what brought it on??" he urged. Sam looked thoughtful.

"Well, the vegetarian thing was because I watched this documentary on animal cruelty. By the way, did you know that they test makeup on _animals_?? I made sure to buy makeup that wasn't-" Danny interrupted her.

"Sammy-"

"Sam."

"Yeah, whatever. You're going off topic," he muttered. He was starting to realize just how smart Sam was. Danny himself was very bright, considering the amount Vlad spent on tutors, and Tucker was incredibly smart, always fiddling around with computers and any other piece of technology he could get his hands on. But Sam had always been a girly girl, or a ditzy blonde. She wasn't dumb, she just never acted…smart. But now, she was practically a walking, talking information counter. At least, when it came to animal rights.

"Oh, right, anyway…the Gothic thing was because I was watching this movie about these girls who acted so…girly. Just the way they talked and walked and acted…ugh!! And then annoyed me so much when I thought, that's me!! So, I got rid of all my girly stuff – except Mr. Fooferbumps of course – and decided I'd change," she said, smiling triumphantly. "I dyed my hair without telling my parents. They were creeped out, but I feel so…natural now." She looked off into space.

There was silence. Then a blue mist shot out of Danny's mouth, surprising the three of them. Danny shot up.

"Another false one??" Tucker asked, not looking that alarmed. They looked around, not really bothering to check.

A scream rang out.

Faith, a fifteen-year-old girl sitting alone in the corner, turned white and fell to the ground, clutching her ears in complete agony. She writhed in pain, screaming and howling in terror, her eyes bulging and her face pale.

Everybody stared at her, not sure what to do. A few people had risen slightly, nervously. They stared at the figure moving convulsively on the ground.

None of them noticed the sound at first. It was so soft. A few people swatted at their ears, thinking that it was simply a bee.

Then the noise rose.

Suddenly Faith wasn't the only one on the ground screaming. Dash was on the ground, grabbing at his ears.

"What's going on??" Danny cried, looking to Sam and Tucker. But then the noise rose. It was a scream, loud and high. It rose and fell, a noise so unbearable they felt like their eardrums were going to explode. Danny screamed in agony, tearing at his hair. Blue mist escaped his mouth and he stared in complete horror as two figures floated down from the ceiling. He bit down on his tongue and felt the blood dribble down the side of his mouth. He tried to drag himself away slowly, at the same time trying to control the pain in his head and trying to study the ghosts at the same time.

The two ghosts were a man and a woman. They were misty and unclear, and as they floated to the ground they slowly became clearer and clearer, the red mist around them floating away.

The man was incredibly tall, dark and handsome. He was about twenty something and his dark brown hair was messy and windswept and framed his tanned face. He was wearing jeans and a black t-shirt with scuffed trainers. He had a malicious look in his golden eyes and a cruel smirk that flashed his perfect, white teeth.

The woman was 'petite' with long, light brown hair and a slim figure. She was absolutely gorgeous with cold blue eyes and a sharp nose. She was wearing a long, olden style, golden dress and incredibly high heels. She looked even crueler than her partner.

The woman's lips were parted and the voice was coming from her. Her voice was unbearably sharp, so much that it pierced their minds and it felt as if they were exploding from the inside.

Then she stopped, and her beautiful, lilting voice rang out in the room. They all stopped writhing. Danny was trembling from head to toe, his vision almost completely black.

"Oh look Eduardo, look at these young mortals," she hissed, malice in her eyes. The young man chuckled.

"Yes, Rosalie. Look at them, cowering," he snarled. "Now it's my turn." They didn't waste any time talking. The man set his feet on the ground and straightened up. His smirk grew wider.

"But please…may I have one more try??" she pleaded, pouting slightly. His cruel face softened as he looked at her.

"Alright darling. Just one," he whispered. Danny's eyes widened and he crawled away, not daring to see if the couple spotted him. The woman smiled harshly and opened her mouth. Danny stumbled into the hall and found his way into the men's bathroom.

"Going ghost!!" he shouted, turning into his ghost form. The moment he was finished, he screeching noise had started again. The door was closed, so it muffled the sound slightly, but it was still enough to give him a splitting headache. He winced in agony and somehow stumbled out of the bathroom, his fingers in his ears. His mouth was open in a silent scream.

Then the scream stopped.

He collapsed to the floor.

"Now it's my turn," he heard Eduardo say maliciously. He stopped. There was a terrifying silence for a few seconds.

The floor started to quake. The walls trembled and screaming and yelling came from the cafeteria. Cracks appeared in the ceiling.

The ground heaved up, and Danny slammed onto the tiles. His chin slapped the floor and tears sprang into his eyes. The world seemed to heave back down and he found himself suspended in midair for a millisecond before he slammed onto the earth once again.

The ground started to shake from side to side. It was near impossible to stand up. He jumped into the air and flew towards the cafeteria, neatly dodging plaster from the crumbling ceiling. The locker door slammed open and a few of them fell forward, nearly squashing him. Danny, trying to escape being crushed, slammed into the wall, nearly knocking himself out.

A familiar scream rang out across the hallway.

"Sammy," Danny whispered in horror, his eyes widening. He took off, entering the cafeteria dramatically only to find pure chaos.

The tables were overturned and tangled amongst each other, lunch trays were flying everywhere and students where being thrown around by the incredible force of the earthquake. The ghosts were floating high in the air. The man was staring down at the students with a look of pure concentration in his face. His hands were clenched into fists. He was causing the earthquake.

The woman was beside him, clutching his tensed arms and looking down admiringly at the chaos below. Her dress was whirling behind her elegantly, as if caught by a light breeze. Danny ignored her. His focus was on the source of all the chaos.

He shot off like a bullet into the air. He had the advantage because the couple had their backs turned to him. He clenched his hands into fists, aiming for the man's back, preferably his spine or his neck, and squinted his eyes. He was just a few meters away. A few more seconds and-

The woman turned slightly. She hadn't heard him, but she turned a few seconds before he slammed into her partner. Her eyes widened.

"HAH!!" she spat, and suddenly Danny was thrown off course, slamming into the wall. He slid down to the ground, groaning in pain. Not only did the woman's voice give people a major headache, it also seemed to be able to touch them physically.

While the man concentrated on the earthquake the woman, Rosalie, turned to him. A cruel smile was on her face, but there was also curiosity.

"You're a little small for a ghost aren't you??" she said, tilting his head up. Danny, struggling to stand, glared defiantly at her.

"No I'm not!!" he said firmly. "I'm thirteen!!" He launched himself at her, surprising her momentarily. She managed to grab his arm and use his momentum to swing him away, slap bang onto one of the tables. He was momentarily winded, but as he looked up he saw Sam's terrified face peeking out behind one of the chair. He threw himself at Rosalie once more. She screamed, somehow directing it all to him instead of the whole room. It felt as if a bulldozer had slammed into him. He went crashing to the ground.

The short and unbalanced fight ended only a few minutes after it had started. Danny was left on the ground, dazed beyond comprehension and fighting tooth and nail not to turn back into a human. The ground was still shaking, but he barely noticed. Rosalie floated down to him on the ground. A look of softness came into her eyes. Danny suddenly found himself wondering if she had ever had children before she had died.

"You're a brave kid. Too bad I'm going to have to kill you. What's your name sweetie??" she asked softly. Danny suddenly felt compelled to answer.

"D-Danny Masters," he stammered, unable to hold his defiant gaze any longer. To his complete surprise the woman's eyes twitched, then she straightened up and floated towards her partner.

"Eduardo, we're leaving," she said firmly. The earthquake stopped and Eduardo started at Rosalie.

"Why??"

"That boy is the son of Vlad Masters," she said. Danny frowned. How did these ghosts know his father??

The man's eyes flickered towards him. Then he nodded and the ghosts left abruptly. Danny, unable to contain himself any longer, changed back into human form. It was safe, considering everyone was hiding under a table and covering their face. It took them a few minutes to realize that the earthquake was over.

Danny, seeing that Sam and Tucker were safe, leant back and closed his eyes. He needed a short rest.

00000

Everyone was sent home early, of course, because of the earthquake. School was postponed for a few days while people would come in to repair the damage, and frankly, Danny was _glad_. He was completely exhausted from the day's events, and he only wanted to go home and fall asleep on his bed.

He walked into their house and towards his father's study, ready to tell Vlad the good news. He dropped his bag on the floor as he reached the study door.

"Dad??" he called out softly. There were voices in the study. Angry voices. And they were both very familiar. One was his father's, and the other was…his eyes widened. "Legend??" He pushed the door open carefully to peek in.

Legend was sitting on Vlad's desk, her tail twitching angrily, while Vlad was pacing about the room, looking completely furious. Danny winced. He had never seen his father so angry before. He listened to their heated conversation. His father was speaking at the moment.

"…can't believe you dared to interfere with his life!! I told you to leave and never come back, and instead you go behind my back to meddle with his mind and maybe even ruin his life!!" Vlad was shouting. Legend hissed angrily.

"Ruin his life!! I did not ruin his life!!"

"You're going to mess with his mind. He's just a kid, Sylvia!!" he roared, slamming his hands onto his desk. "I don't want you in my son's life!!" Legend's eyes flashed red.

"_Your _son? You're still in denial, aren't you?" she screamed back. He stared at her for a second, breathing heavily. Danny remembered Legend mentioning his mother. What did she mean by him not being Vlad's son?? He felt incredibly confused.

"You didn't…_tell_ him the truth did you??" Vlad asked suddenly, his eyes narrowed dangerously. Legend sighed.

"I told him nothing. But he may have guessed certain things about his past," she snapped. He seemed to explode with fury.

"THAT COULD RUIN EVERYTHING! I RISKED IT ALL BY COMING HERE TO AMITY PARK! WHAT IF HE FINDS OUT THE TRUTH!" he yelled furiously. Danny frowned. What truth?? What was his father hiding from him??

"Well then why did you even come??"

"Because I found the portal. Not Jack's one, the other one. The one that imprisons the Titans. That's why I came here," Vlad said, struggling to keep his voice calm.

"THE TITANS?? Is this another one of your silly take over the world schemes, Vlad?? Is that why you came here?? For goodness sake, Vlad, think of our son!! Not only did you rip him away from his home, but what if one day you actually do take over the world?? How do you think that will affect Danny??" she snarled. He scowled at her.

"He won't know it's me because it will be Plasmius," he said slowly, stretching out every word as if she were stupid. Danny frowned. Plasmius, from what he knew, was the ghost that often appeared in their mansion at Wisconsin. Did his father _know _the ghost?? He quickly shook the thought out of his head. He was too confused to think about all this.

"Sylvia, I want you to leave," Vlad blurted, looking intently at the cat on his desk. She stared at him.

"Leave??" she asked, unsure.

"Yes. Leave. I want you to leave immediately. Get out of Pyro and leave. Go haunt some other family," he said bitterly. For a few seconds a understanding passed between them. Then it was gone and Legend sighed. She jumped out of Pyro. Danny jolted slightly, shocked to see her in her human form. He had gotten so used to her being a cat. Pyro meowed suddenly, looking dazed. Then he jumped down from the desk and left, passing by Danny and rubbing against him, purring loudly. Danny smiled. He had missed him.

"Alright Vlad. I'll leave," she said softly. Vlad was staring at her with something akin to sadness. She gave him a quick hug and floated towards the window reluctantly.

"I forgot how beautiful you were in real life," he muttered. She glanced at him before flying off, leaving him in the study by himself. He collapsed in the chair and groaned.

Danny, feeling a little paranoid that he might get caught suddenly, moved away from the study. He was much too tired to process any of the information he had just heard, and he was sure that he would forget most of it in the morning. None of what had been said seemed of any importance at the moment.

He didn't realize that Vlad's true identity had just been revealed. He didn't realize that he had been given a link to his past, and he didn't realize that the chances of ever seeing Legend or Sylvia again were pretty much close to zero.

00000

I finished rewriting my story! And now onto the new chapter! I'm planning to finish it by today or tomorrow. Should be easy enough considering I did this rewrite in like, TWO days. Seriously. Two days. And I stuck to the original plot.

Your opinions people. Original fans, opinions on the rewrite please. And hope you look forward to the next chapter, which I will be posting soon! I promise!

- Speeddemonrox


	9. Chapter Nine

The much awaited chapter! Oh my God. I'm actually writing it. I'm sorry for making you guys wait. I feel terrible.

Chapter Nine

"A _tutor_?" Danny spluttered. "Why do I need a tutor?" He stared up at Mr. Lancer in astonishment.

"Because your grades have been consistently _bad_. You are constantly falling asleep in class or not paying attention therefore you have not been learning _anything_. All you have been getting are C's and D's and in one instance, an _F_! This isn't good enough," he said strictly. Danny stared at the reports that Mr. Lancer stuck under his nose.

They were all essays and pieces of work that he had done, but he had never paid attention to the marks. He had been so tired from ghost fighting that nowadays he didn't seem to have enough time for schoolwork.

"Wow…I…I didn't realize that my marks were so bad. I mean, I've been really tired I guess it's just hard to concentrate," he stammered, blushing. Mr. Lancer's angry scowl softened slightly as he saw Danny's confusion.

"Do you take extra curricular activities, Masters?" he asked. Danny paused, and then nodded.

"Um…yeah, I take sports outside of school," he lied. At least now he'd have an excuse for not doing the sessions.

"Well, we're going to have to find a free spot for you to be tutored. I have chosen one of our top students to tutor you, so you need not worry. She will help you with your work, but do not try and make her do all your homework. I will know whether you have done your work or not. I'm very observant," he said, narrowing his eyes at Danny. Danny laughed nervously. "Now, when are you free? Your tutor is free everyday from four to five except Sundays. Are you free on…Monday?"

"Um…Basketball."

"Tuesday?"

"Hockey practice."

"Wednesday?"

"I…umm…play soccer."

"Thursday?"

"Ah gee…volleyball?"

"Fridays?"

"Oh, can't. I play the piano. I've got lessons. Yeah. Lots of lessons," Danny lied nervously. Mr. Lancer studied him for a second. Danny almost felt transparent without even having to use his powers.

"Well, then I'm sure you won't mind joining the school orchestra. We do _need _a piano player and-"

"Wait! I just realize my…piano teacher is out of town for a few months. So I'm free on Friday. Yeah, Friday's good," Danny relented miserably.

"Good. This is your tutor's name, home number and address. I'll inform her of your tutoring sessions and you can meet with her this Friday at this address," he said, handing Danny a card. Danny looked at it reluctantly and then pocketed it. He left the classroom only to find Tucker and Sam waiting outside for him. They were, like usual, bickering about Tucker eating meat and Sam not eating meat.

"Meat is _good _for you! Without meat we'd all be vegetarians, like you! And that would be awful!" Tucker snapped.

"Well at least I'm not a carnivore like you! It's disgusting how little you care about the environment!" Sam retorted. Danny passed through them and they stopped arguing.

"What did he say?" Tucker asked curiously. Danny looked up at the ceiling mournfully.

"I have to have a tutor for a few months. To bring my grades up," he muttered. They exited the school. Sam and Tucker looked confused.

"But, you're really smart!"

"Yeah, but I've been so busy ghost fighting that I've been always falling asleep in class. It's so irritating. My life just falling apart. My dad barely spends time at home and when he does he ignores me, all the ghosts insist on hanging around town just to _piss me off_ and my grades are slipping. And now I need a tutor! Every Friday from four to five," Danny snarled.

"Who's the tutor?" Tucker asked.

"Oh, it's-" Suddenly something caught his eye.

Two people were standing on the roof of a building. A very familiar ghost who was talking to a black man wearing a cloak and holding a staff.

The black man was covered in strange white symbols. He seemed to glow with a dark aura and he was nodding and frowning. He was wearing a cloak as dark as the night that whipped behind him. But it wasn't the black man who caught Danny's attention. It was the ghost he was talking to.

"The Wisconsin ghost," Danny snarled. He went into his ghost form, and flew off without saying goodbye to Sam and Tucker.

The Wisconsin ghost – otherwise known as Plasmius - was blue in color with black hair that was sticking up in what Danny thought was a very strange style. He was very muscular and in Danny's opinion, much more dangerous than the average ghost. His eyes glowed red and he stood up straight. He seemed to have a permanent cruel smirk plastered to his face. He was levitating a few inches over the ground as he spoke.

Danny floated to the side of the building, listening to the conversation carefully.

"…have a deal then, Magik," he heard Plasmius say. The black man, Magik, replied in a deep voice:

"You do realize the consequences if something goes wrong."

"Nothing will go wrong."

"If we are interrupted during the spell…"

"I will have Eduardo and Rosalie guarding you, as well as myself. Do not worry, nothing will go wrong."

"If we are interrupted the first few minutes the portal will simply close up by itself and the Titans will continue to be trapped, but after a time the Titans will be able to escape by themselves. If I do not finish the spell they will not be under your control, they will have free reign."

"But you _will _finish the spell and I _will _have control over the Titans. You know what will happen if I don't get what I want," he hear Plasmius threaten. Magik was silent.

Then there was a loud _swish_ and as Danny looked up he saw Magik swooping away and out of sight. He assumed the conversation was over and as he peeked over the roof he was relieved to see it was empty.

"_Well, well, well_. If it isn't _Inviso-Bill_," he heard a voice drawl behind him. He whirled around, his heart thundering in his chest from the shock.

Plasmius was floating behind him with that intolerable smirk on his face and his arms crossed. He was eyeing Danny lazily. Danny scowled at the mention of the ridiculous name. He hated the name beyond reason, but there was no way to change it. So he had to live with it until everyone got tired of it and left him alone. Especially all those damn _reporters_.

"Plasmius. You're here. I thought you were back in Wisconsin. And it's _Phantom_," Danny accused.

"Change of plans," Plasmius answered casually. "I had a job to do here, and unfortunately you could possibly get in the way of that, which means that I have to eliminate you."

"Oh? What makes you think you can?" Danny challenged. Plasmius laughed mockingly.

"You are either very brave, or very stupid," he smirked.

"Go to hell you bastard," Danny snarled. Plasmius sighed, wagging his finger in disapproval.

"Now, that's no way to speak to your elders. What would your parents think?"

"Shut up about my dad," Danny said, not bothering to mention that he didn't have a mother. Legend didn't count. She was a spirit and his friend, not his true mother. His mother had died.

Plasmius seemed to understand Danny's omission and was silent for a second.

"He can't be was very good father if he allows you to use language like that," he said slowly, seeming to enjoy Danny's look of anger.

"He's a great father and a better person than you'll ever be!" he shouted angrily and, sick of the small talk, dived forward to deliver a mighty punch. Plasmius dodged and Danny whirled around, kicking him in the side. Plasmius grabbed his leg and swung him around.

Danny let out his ghostly wail, sending Plasmius flying back until her smashed into the building. For a second Danny straightened, feeling proud of himself but that was short lived when suddenly Plasmius sent an ectoplasmic blast in his direction. Caught of guard he wasn't able to dodge it fast enough and it hit him on the shoulder, sending him spiraling onto the ground. He yelled his pain as his back connected to the road and his head hit the ground.

For a few seconds all he could see were spots, then he regained his vision just in time to roll away as Plasmius sent another blast towards him. Then he stared at Plasmius and blinked, rubbing his eyes. There had to be something wrong because there were _two_ Plasmius'. He gaped as they both floated next to each other.

"Like this power? Admit it Phantom, you're no match compared to my powers. I've been a ghost years before you were crawling around in a diaper like the baby you are," Plasmius said seriously. Danny let out a cry of angry and sent ectoplasmic blasts towards the two ghosts. They dodged easily and, before his very eyes, separated into three, then four.

"Oh crap," he muttered, then took off into the air.

"_Danny!_" he heard Sam cry. He and the Plasmius' both turned towards where Sam and Tucker were standing (A/N: Vlad has never seen what Sam and Tucker look like. He knows Danny has friends, but hasn't seen them and most likely doesn't remember their names.). Danny took advantage of this distraction to punch one of the Plasmius' in the face. The ghost flickered and then disappeared as it was reabsorbed back into the original Plasmius.

Danny sent a blast towards each of them but he was too slow as they lazily dodged it. Two of them were taken back in and the original Plasmius was left, looking bored.

"You're not much of a challenge. I was expecting more from you, Phantom," he said. He sent a blast towards Danny who put up a barrier that deflected it. Plasmius sighed in annoyance and sent one that was much stronger. It bounced of the barrier but Danny found himself sweating from the mere effort of keeping the barrier up.

"Tucker, do something!" he heard Sam cry.

"Danny, don't fight him! Run!" Tucker cried. Danny knew that turning his back on this ghost was the last thing he should do. He was willing to bet that the ghost had no problem with knocking him out while his back was turned. Danny wasn't willing to risk it. But he knew he couldn't hold up the barrier for long.

Plasmius sent another, even more powerful blast which shattered his shield completely. Danny, instead of straining himself, let the barrier fall and flew out of the way. He turned invisible quickly.

"Oh, I wouldn't do that Phantom," Plasmius said mockingly, then deliberately turned towards Sam and Tucker, making a dramatic gesture as he prepared to blow them to smithereens.

"_NO!_" Danny cried, diving for Plasmius. This was exactly what he had been waiting for. He turned around, grabbed Danny and used the momentum to send him smashing into the ground. Then he blasted him with a beam so powerful that Danny nearly blacked out. He willed himself to stay conscious. If he fainted he would turn back and he couldn't reveal his identity to Plasmius. He couldn't let him know that he was a halfa.

"Goodbye, Phantom. You lasted longer than expected. I'll give you that, at least," Plasmius said. Then he brought his arms up and a ball of crackling energy began to form between his hands. Sam and Tucker both cried out, running forward but they were too far. And anyway, there was nothing they could do.

Danny closed his eyes, waiting for the final, agonizing blow to come but it never came.

A loud screeching sound rose up and as Danny watched a blue beam hit Plasmius, sending him reeling. They all turned and Danny felt a huge swoop of relief.

Ember was standing at the end of the street holding her guitar and glaring at Plasmius.

"Get away from him!" she shouted angrily. Plasmius scowled, but more in annoyance than in anger.

"Ember," he hissed. Danny stared at both of them, his eyes traveling from one to the other. They _knew _each other?

"Leave Plasmius. You don't want to kill him," she said loudly.

"Oh, but I think I do," Plasmius disagreed. Ember pointed her guitar at him, ready to hit him with another blast but he relented. "Fine. But I'll destroy him next time, and you _won't _be there to protect him." Then he turned and sped off leaving a stunned Danny and co. on the street. Ember walked up to Danny, looking relieved and exasperated at the same time.

"Why are you _always _getting into trouble?" she snapped angrily. Danny shrugged. "That lousy bastard. How could he…? Oh right, he doesn't know." This last part was directed towards herself.

"Know what?" Danny asked, then began to cough. There was an astonishing amount of dust in his throat. He hacked until finally his throat had cleared.

"Nothing. Go home Danny."

"What are you even doing in Amity Park?"

"I came by to see you and Vlad."

"Oh," Danny said. Well, obviously. Ember left, stating she would meet up with him later and Danny went back to human form. He walked with Sam and Tucker, saying nothing and neither of them mentioned his prominent limp or the cut on his cheek. To lighten up the mood Tucker said:

"So…a tutor, huh?"

Danny perked up at the chance of talking about something other than what had just happened.

"Yeah. I guess. I mean, at least she'll help me with my grades and stuff," he said, sighing. Then he looked down at the card. "That's her name." Tucker and Sam took it and looked it over.

"Who the hell is Jazz Fenton?"

00000

Oh yeah. That's right. Jazz is his tutor.

Oh wow. After what I think was a year I finally got the next chapter up. I can't believe I started this story about two years ago. Creepy.

- Speeddemonrox


	10. Chapter Ten

**Notes: **Wow, this took almost no time at all. Now this I've been waiting for – Danny meeting his parents. And the moments my fingers hit the keyboard I go totally blank and have no idea what to write. But it's okay. I have a plan.

Chapter Ten

Danny stood at the door of the Fentons' rather strange house. Tentatively he lifted his fist and knocked on the door, feeling unusually shy about meeting this girl. According to Sam she was pretty much the smartest girl in school. Also one of the most popular, prettiest and coolest girls. He couldn't help but feel slightly scared that she might treat him like a loser or be completely rude, like Dash or Paulina.

There was a few seconds of tense silence until finally the door opened and a red-haired girl peered out, scowling. Then her eyes rested on him.

"Whatever you're selling we're _not _interested," she snapped, then slammed the door shut.

Danny blinked, slightly stunned. He reached up to knock again and then hesitated. He blushed slightly before knocking again. The door opened so quickly he nearly fell back.

"I _told _you-" Danny cut her off quickly.

"I'm not a salesperson." She frowned, confused. "I'm Danny Masters. I'm here for the tutoring session." Her expression immediately changed and she looked down at her watch and then squeaked.

"Oops! Wait, um, come in. I'll be with you in a second." She left the door open and went racing up the stairs.

A red-haired woman appeared at the doorway of the kitchen, holding a tray of cookies.

She was wearing a blue jumpsuit. Her hair was straight and cute about chin-length. Danny couldn't help but think that she was very pretty, but slightly familiar. Her violet eyes studied him for a second, then she smiled at him in a motherly way.

"Come in! Jazz told me you were coming today for tutoring. What is she tutoring you for?" Closing the door behind him he followed her into the kitchen.

"Um…pretty much everything I'm guessing. I'm…not really that good at school," he stammered. "I fall asleep all the time." The woman sighed and shook her head.

"Kids these days. I bet you stay up all night partying with your friends," she said teasingly.

"Well…not exactly partying," Danny said nervously. _If you could call fighting Skulker partying…_

"Well, I'm sure you and Jazz will get along splendidly. Are you new here?" Maddie asked.

"I moved in a few months ago but this place is still pretty unfamiliar I guess," he admitted. She smiled.

"Well, maybe once you get to know Jazz she can show you around a little bit. Our Jazz knows her way around Amity Park. She's lived here since the day she was born," she said. He smiled at her politely. He couldn't help but like her; she was so friendly.

He still couldn't place her familiarity…

"Maddie! Look what I just made!" A large man opened the door to what Danny assumed was their basement. He was wearing a strange orange jumpsuit and holding a metal contraption but that wasn't why Danny was staring.

_They were the ghost hunters!_

Danny nearly puked right there and then. His stomach had already been acting up a little bit, what with being so nervous about coming here, but seeing the two ghost hunters would have been the last straw if he hadn't controlled himself.

"Who's this?" The man asked, pointing at Danny.

Danny almost died with relief. The woman hadn't recognized him and the man certainly didn't. He let out a breath he hadn't even realized he was holding. Then he looked at the man. He couldn't remember his name, though now he knew the woman was called Maddie.

"Jack, meet Danny. Danny, this is my husband, Jack," she said as Jazz came running down the stairs. "He's here for a tutoring session with Jazz." Jack looked excited.

"What your last name, Danny?" Jazz asked suddenly, holding a sheet of paper. "I'm tutoring two Danny's so I need to write that down."

"Masters. I'm Danny Masters," he said. Jack and Maddie looked thoughtful.

"Masters…sounds familiar…do I know your parents?" Jack asked.

_As if my dad would ever know weirdo ghost hunters like you, _Danny thought, not exactly cruelly. He was more amused at the thought that his dad, whose henchmen were pretty much all ghosts and/or wandering spirits, would be acquainted with these people who, at the sight of ghosts seemed to be incredibly enthusiastic about chasing them wildly with electric butterfly nets.

"My mom's dead, but my dad's called Vlad. Vlad Masters," he said casually. Jazz frowned.

"Isn't that the millionaire?" she asked. Danny nodded. _Billionaire_, he thought proudly, but didn't want to sound conceited. His thoughts were interrupted by a shriek.

"_Vlad?_ Vlad Masters?" Maddie cried, looking excitedly at Jack. "He was our high school friend!" She was almost jumping with joy. Jack looked quite stunned too.

"Why, I haven't seen Vladdy in…years!" he said. Danny nearly snorted. _Vladdy. _He giggled inwardly at the thought of someone calling his stoic, uptight father _Vladdy_.

"You…uh…know him?"

"Know him? We were best friends! Of course, the poor boy vanished after that case of ecto-acne," Maddie sighed. Danny frowned. Ecto-acne. He remembered his father once mentioning it, but he had been slightly drunk and he had immediately looked shamed and ignored Danny's other questions.

"Do you like ghosts, Danny?" Jack asked suddenly. Danny cleared his throat. "Vlad liked ghosts. Or at least, ghost hunting. I have ghost-hunting weapons in the basement. Want to see?" He seemed very keen to show Danny the ghost weapons. Danny grimaced inwardly, but decided to do that. He needed to know what he would be up against if he ever met these people while they were ghost hunting. The last time he had been caught by surprise. He didn't want that to happen again.

"Dad! He has a tutoring session right now. Plus I don't need you guys showing him your _stupid _ghost-hunting weapons and thinking I'm a total weirdo," Jazz said huffily.

Danny guessed she probably thought herself mature but he couldn't help but be glad that he didn't have an older sister like her. (A/N: this cracked me up)

"It's fine! I kind of…want to see it," he said hurriedly. She rolled her eyes.

"Fine, but don't be long." Then she stormed up to her room. Danny followed Jack into the basement and found himself in a large room. There were metal contraptions strewn all over the place and he moved carefully as Jack ploughed through them – he didn't know what would happen if he accidentally activated one.

"My dad…uh…liked ghost hunting?"

"Yes! The three of us were partners. We went everywhere together! Vlad was always passionate about hunting ghosts." _How ironic_, Danny thought, thinking about Skulker and Technus and Ember and his father's cronies.

"Look at this, Danny!" Jack cried, shoving something into Danny's arms. "This is the Fenton Finder. This is how it works." He pointed it around the room. It was silent. Then he pointed it at Danny. It began beeping and screeching and shuddering until it exploded, making Danny jump back. Jack stared at it. "That's strange. It usually only does that with ghosts. Must be broken."

"Heheh. Yeah. Must be broken. I mean me, a ghost, how ridiculous," Danny laughed nervously. Jack chucked it to the side.

He began showing Danny the many devices that he stored in the lab. Danny noticed that most of them were just objects with the word 'Fenton' in front of them.

The others though, were real weapons that could be used against ghosts. The Fenton Specter Deflector, for example, was something Danny stayed away from. Once Jack had clasped it around his waist he'd said that any ghosts that came in direct contact with him would be repelled and weakened. Danny made sure to stay away from Jack until he had finally taken it off.

"What's this?" Danny asked, picking up what looked like a thermos.

"_That _is the Fenton Thermos, my boy," Jack said. His eyes glazed over slightly as he said that and smiled at Danny almost sadly. Danny shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. Jack took the thermos gently. "It traps ghosts inside it. Impossible to escape from unless opened. I don't know how to use it though."

"We have a ghost in our mansion in Wisconsin," Danny said suddenly. Jack perked up, looking excited.

"Really? A ghost? Have you seen it?" he asked eagerly. Danny nodded, glad that the strange look had been wiped off Jack's face.

"Yeah. It's a pretty dangerous ghost though. It…he…attacked me a few times," he said. He didn't mention that he had attacked him back or that Plasmius had nearly killed him, though Danny didn't want to admit it. He was getting tired of Tucker using the phrases 'beat the crap out of you' or 'kicked your white butt from here to Australia'.

"Well! We can't have that now, can we? Here," he said, handing Danny the thermos. "Keep it. If you figure out how to use it maybe it'll help protect you from this ghost of yours." Danny looked chuffed. He needed a weapon of some sorts. Plasmius was too strong, plus when he was fighting it would be good to give to Sam or to Tucker so they could defend themselves.

"Look at this!" Jack said. "A Fenton Xtractor. It'll extract a ghost from a human." He pointed it playfully at Danny. Danny stared at the machine, feeling slightly freaked out. If Jack turned the machine on, it would rip the ghost out of Danny. He wondered how that would feel – like he was being torn in half, maybe?

He was incredibly relieved when Jazz called out:

"Danny?" He walked up the stairs quickly, saying a quick goodbye to Jack who was fiddling with the Fenton Xtractor.

"Um…yeah! Sorry," he said, blushing slightly as he saw Jazz impatiently waiting at the top of the stairs. "I guess I got a bit…distracted." Her expression softened at his ashamed look and she led him to the dining room.

"We'll have the sessions here. My parents know to stay away so you won't be distracted," she said cheerfully. He had a feeling that she was a bit embarrassed by her parents. He could see it from her point of view. He was kind of glad that Vlad wasn't always flaunting his obsessions in front of people. He would have _died _if Vlad had started building weapons in order to capture the Packers. He nearly groaned at the sight of Vlad chasing them around hysterically with a lasso.

He spotted a picture on top of the fireplace and leaned forward curiously to get a better look. It was a picture of Jack, Maddie, Jazz and a little baby. They were all younger and Maddie was holding the baby whilst ignoring the camera. Jack was fiddling with a metal contraption and Jazz was sulking, glaring at something beyond the camera's view.

"You have a brother or sister?" Danny asked. Jazz froze, then slowly turned around. She obviously hadn't realized that he had moved away from her. She headed towards him, reaching out for the picture. She stopped, then her hand dropped and she looked slightly lost for words. Danny realized that he had touched on a sensitive subject but he was too curious to take back his question.

"I have a brother…somewhere," she muttered. Danny looked confused. "He disappeared after about three months. He was obviously kidnapped but we don't know who did it. We don't know how the intruder got into the house but they didn't take any money or anything like that. He just came in, ripped out my parents' hearts and stole way into the night." Her voice was bitter. Danny blushed again.

"I'm…sorry…"

"It's okay. I never knew him. I mean, I've always wondered what it would have been like if…well, you know. But it's been a long time and I guess even though it's still painful, we've all accepted it and moved on," she said smoothly, her face slightly pale.

"How long has it been?" He wondered if a person was truly ever able to cope with the loss of a child. It sounded agonizing.

"I'm guessing he'd be about your age by now. Maybe younger or older. Just think, if he hadn't been taken away you might have met him, maybe even been friends with him. It's not impossible," she said, shrugging. "Now, we _have _to revise. What subject do you want to revise first?"

"What was his name?" Danny asked softly. He didn't know why but he was mesmerized by the tragedy the family had experienced. He felt compelled to know about it. He _needed _to find out. It was a strange feeling he'd never experienced before but he felt drawn to this young boy, whoever he was.

A thirteen or so year-old boy was maybe running around, completely unaware that he'd been ripped away from his family. Danny pitied the boy. He felt grateful that he had Vlad for a father. If someone had ever taken him away from Vlad…who knew what strange predicament he might end up in.

"Well, since we're obviously not going to get any revision done," Jazz muttered, putting down her books. "His name was Daniel, like yours."

"My name's not Daniel. It's Dante," he said, and Jazz seemed to be unable to stop herself from crinkling her nose up. He sighed. "I know. It's old and weird. But hey, it's my dad's taste. I think I was named after an uncle. Do you think he's alive?"

Jazz stopped, looking ponderous. Danny sat down opposite her.

"I…I _feel _like he's alive, you know? I mean, sometimes I feel like he's here with me, his presence could be in this very room. Or I feel like he's close by, watching me intently or something. Stupid, huh?" she said, smiling slightly. Danny, who was staring at her intensely, blinked but said nothing. He didn't find it stupid at all.

"Are your parents…okay about all this? I mean, it must have been really painful."

"My parents!" Jazz gasped. She looked around suddenly, as if he parents would suddenly appear without warning. She lowered her voice to a whisper. "You _can't _tell my parents that I told you any of this. It's a family secret."

"Then why did you tell me?" Danny asked.

"I…don't know. I just felt like I could talk to you. But we usually don't put up the photos with Daniel. Usually we keep them in drawers because my parents say that looking at them is too painful. It's…it's just that I forgot to take this one down yesterday," she finished lamely, gesturing at the photo. She looked embarrassed and they were completely silent. "It's just so strange. I know that if he were…_here _my life would be completely different. But it's impossible to imagine…"

Danny said nothing, just cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"Well…at least you, uh, still have your parents," he said. She looked at him. The expression on her face changed from embarrassment to disgust to contempt to a strange expression that he couldn't place until he realized that she was trying not to laugh. "Um…I mean…" Then he started to laugh too.

They laughed until they were almost doubled over in pain. But once they had calmed they looked at each other, two strangers with the weirdest connection. It was faint, but it was there. Unnoticeable almost, but strong enough that they were aware of it.

They smiled.

00000

And that's the next chapter. Danny finally meets his sister and his parents in non ghost-hunting form.

My favorite part in writing this was the comment from Jazz and Danny in which they didn't realize that they were completely referring to Danny. Or the fact that Danny was like 'glad _I _didn't get nabbed by some kidnapper'. Ah, oblivious Danny, you're just too fun to write.

Thou shalt review.


	11. Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

"A reunion? In Wisconsin?"

"Yeah, some sort of high school reunion party that dad's hosting. I'm supposed to invite the Fentons, since they used to go to school together. My dad's really eager to invite them. I guess they were pretty good friends, which is weird 'cause he never really mentioned them before," Danny said. "The reunion's on the weekend, and I'm kind of hoping you guys could come?" He sounded hopeful.

"Sure! I've always wanted to visit your mansion," Tucker said excitedly. "How big is it? Like, gigantic? Enormous? Ginormous?"

"It's…pretty big I guess."

"Is it bigger than Sam's house?"

"Tucker!" Sam snapped. Tucker cowered.

"What? You _do _live in a pretty big house! I can't believe you never told us you were rich," he said, pouting.

"Because I knew that if you did you'd act like a complete twit, same way you're doing now!" she retorted. They bickered again and Danny sighed, rubbing his eyes. He felt exhausted. More and more ghosts were arriving at Amity Park and they seemed to be getting more and more powerful. No match for Danny of course, but when they grouped together and he had to fight all of them…

Plus, Plasmius always seemed to be around the corner nowadays. He was starting to wonder if he'd ever get some rest. The damn ghosts seemed to have this love of keeping him awake at night.

"I wish that ghosts slept," he yawned. Sam and Tucker both looked at him in concern.

"You've been pretty tired lately. Maybe you should skip tutoring and go home to sleep," Sam encouraged. Danny snorted.

"No way. At least Jazz helps me finish my homework. I feel kind of bad for her. You should see the look on her face when I reveal the huge pile of homework that we have to get through in the session. We've extended the session to two hours now, instead of one," he muttered. He didn't mind spending time with Jazz. She was quite fun.

"I've heard from some people that she can be a regular snob when she wants to," Tucker said. "I've never talked to her enough to form an opinion."

"She's kind of uptight around her parents. I mean, her dad is kind of…dim, I guess," Danny said, smirking. He was glad that _his _father wasn't as clumsy and dimwitted as Jack Fenton. But Jack Fenton was a nice person and Danny did quite like him. "He's really nice though. Her mom is nice too. And pretty. But the fact that they're the ghost hunters scares the hell out of me." He shuddered. "I never know when they're going to bring out their ghost-hunting weapons. Mr. Fenton is so enthusiastic about meeting someone who is actually interested in ghosts he keeps dragging me around his lab."

"Well, that's a good thing. You're getting to know your enemies. If they ever attack you again when you're in ghost form, you'll know what to expect," Sam said reassuringly.

"Yeah but it's _creepy_. And so many times their ghost stuff has targeted me. Thank god Mr. Fenton isn't too clever or he'd have deduced that I'm the ghost. As it is, he just thinks that the machines go haywire because of a malfunction or something. So I'm in the clear for the moment."

"Well, anyway, back to the subject of the reunion, _why_ is your dad hosting this? I thought you said he was busy with work and business meetings with ghosts and stuff. Why would he suddenly get the idea to host a big party?"

"No idea. But I don't care. As long as you guys are there, I'm fine. And I guess Jazz will probably be there, since her parents will bring her along." He stopped at the door of the Fenton's house and knocked.

Jazz revealed herself in the doorway, smiling casually.

"Danny! Hi! You're early!" she said. Then she looked at Sam and Tucker. "Are you Danny's friends?" Sam nodded while Tucker mumbled something. He was blushing. Danny had a feeling that he had a little crush on Jazz. She was very pretty.

Danny couldn't help but look at Jazz in a sisterly way, though. Most of the other boy in his class all talked about how hot she was but Danny found he couldn't bring himself to comment on her looks. It would be like trying to rate your own sister's hotness; something too weird for him to do.

"Hi Jazz. How are you?" Sam asked brightly. Sam and Tucker had met Jazz a few times before. But they had never met her parents.

"I'm-"

"Danny!" Maddie cried, beaming at him. "And are these your friends? Come in! I've just been baking a cake, something which I don't do enough, but why don't you come in and have a bite?" She led them inside.

Jazz dragged Danny to the dining room, denying him the delicious smelling chocolate cake.

"We have a tutoring session right now. You can eat the cake later," she snapped, shoving him onto the chair roughly. "Oh, and here!" She revealed a neatly wrapped present with a fancy red ribbon and handed it to him. He stared at it wordlessly. "I know it was your birthday on Saturday. I wanted to give the present to you last week but I forgot."

"Gee, thanks," he said, opening the present. It was a pen. A silver pen with the words Fenton carved on the side. "It's…nice." Jazz laughed.

"Silly! It's for your ghost-hunting," she said, pushing him slightly. Jazz was fully aware of his secret life. He had blurted it out to her accidentally and she hadn't taken it quite well. He had expected her to be cool about it considering her parents' lives revolved around ghosts. "If you press the cap and point this end to a ghost it weakens them. It can even put them to sleep sometimes, depending on the strength of the ghost. Just don't use it for writing or anything. If you point it at yourself you could fall asleep and end up in detention."

Danny laughed.

"I don't need a pen for that. I've already been shouted at for snoozing in class twice. And that's just the times I've been _caught_," he said, yawning.

Jazz grabbed a textbook from his bag and opened it.

"Do you feel any different, being fourteen?"

"Meh. Not really. I mean, I don't feel older or more mature or anything, if that's what you mean," Danny replied thoughtfully. Jazz nodded.

"I didn't feel any different when I turned fourteen. I had this huge birthday party with all my friends and a few people who I didn't really know. We had the party at this club, not here. I would _never _let my parents anywhere near my friends," she shuddered dramatically. "A few people tried to convince me to have my first beer, but I turned them down."

"You're such a goody-goody," Danny muttered. Jazz whacked him upside the head. He yelped and snatched away her pen as retribution. They struggled for a few minutes, laughing hysterically when Danny fell unceremoniously to the ground, looking stunned.

"What's going on?" Jack said, walking in. Danny suddenly remembered the invitation he was supposed to give.

He quickly told them about the reunion in Wisconsin and, as expected, they were completely enthusiastic about it. They were both excited to meet Vlad after such a long time and accepted immediately.

Danny couldn't help but feel a small lurch in his stomach as he thought of the reunion.

Something bad was going to happen. He knew it. He could feel it in the pit of his stomach and-

"Danny! Stop daydreaming and work!"

00000

"Oh my God! This place is ginormous!" Tucker cried, looking around. Danny smiled at his excitement.

Tucker was running around, nearly hyperventilating as he caught sight of all the fancy furniture that Danny had always found to be a nuisance. He hated having to be careful around all the stupid antiques and vases and stuff.

"I've got to agree with Tucker; this place is huge," Sam said, looking around.

Most of the people had already arrived at the reunion. Vlad was basking in glory as people surrounded him to compliment his home and his success. Danny kept rolling his eyes when his father puffed out his chest and pretended to look casual or bored when someone raved about the mansion.

"You guys have a forest!" Tucker nearly screamed, looking like he was about to jump out the window. Danny and Sam glanced at each other and sighed. Danny led his two friends into the forest, showing them around.

He brought them to where the lake used to be and the cave in which he had found the dragon. They were fascinated by the dried up crater that used to be the lake but slightly apprehensive of the cave.

"What if something else is in there?" Sam asked suspiciously. Danny snorted.

"I doubt it."

"There could be a troll in there or more witches."

"I highly doubt that the trolls would choose to stay in this cave during the night. When it's dark they prefer the open. They won't be back until sunrise," he said, looking at the night sky. Sam and Tucker looked around wildly.

"You mean there are actually trolls _here_?" Sam gasped. Danny shrugged.

"Trolls, witches, centaurs and more. All sorts of stuff."

"Why doesn't your dad kick them out?"

"Well, they don't really bother him so he doesn't care. Plus, some of the witches are really creepy and I don't think my dad can really boss them around." A rustling was heard in the bushes behind them and they turned as a familiar person emerged, looking disheveled.

"Danny! You twit! I've been looking all over for you!"

"Ember? What are you…doing here?" Danny asked, confused. He was pretty sure that Ember and Vlad hadn't gone to high school together. She grabbed his arm and began dragging him back to the mansion.

"Vl-I mean, Plasmius is attacking the guests. It's complete chaos!" she cried. "I can't take him all by myself; I need your help." He groaned as they reached the mansion.

"Can't I go _one _day without Plasmius bothering the hell out of me? God, I just want to kill that guy," he snarled. Ember smirked.

"Don't be so sure." Before he could ask her what she meant he heard screams ringing out in the mansion. He turned into his ghost form and flew into the mansion, searching for Plasmius.

He didn't need to look for very long.

"Well, well, well. Inviso-bill is back," he heard Plasmius drawl mockingly. Danny clenched his fists.

"It's Phantom! _Phantom!_" he nearly screamed. He looked down to find that most of the people were running around, trying to escape. Jack and Maddie Fenton didn't seem scared. More like extremely excited. Jack was waving around a ghost weapon, unsure whether to point it at Plasmius or Danny.

"Is it just me, or do you always seem to be around here to foil my plans?" Plasmius said, frowning thoughtfully. Danny blinked. It _was _weird.

"Why are you here? Don't you live in Amity Park now?" Danny said angrily.

"Don't you?"

Danny was at a loss for words. Was it coincidence that they were here at the same time?

"Enough talking!" Ember snapped, appearing suddenly. She pointed her guitar at Plasmius and a stream of blue shot out, nearly hitting him. He dodged at the last minute and the blast smashed a hole in the ceiling.

"You! Stay out of this! This isn't any of your business!" he growled at her. She swore at him and Danny took this as a chance to tackle Plasmius, smashing him into the wall. Plasmius grunted in irritation and punched Danny, sending him flying to the other side of the room. Danny landing, skidding across the floor.

"Look at all the ghosts, Maddie!" Jack cried, pointing a machine at Plasmius. A net shot out. He turned intangible but it still caught him, sending him flying to the floor. He cried out in shock and anger, struggling uselessly against the green net. "I caught one of them!" He moved forward. Plasmius simply phased through the floor, disappearing and reappearing a few feet away. Jack wilted with disappointment. "He got away!"

"You incompetent fool! You never were able to do anything right!" Plasmius snarled mockingly, sending an ectoplasmic blast towards Jack. Danny put up a shield to defend Jack, grimacing as the blast bounced off harmlessly. It was still powerful and nearly shattered the shield. Plasmius turned on him furiously. "_Stop interfering!" _He multiplied, looking more enraged than Danny had ever seen him.

But as they fought, the powerful ghost constantly kept trying to destroy Jack, and Danny had a feeling that he was directing his anger towards the older man instead of Danny.

What grudge did he hold against the man? He was curious, but could barely think as he dodged four ectoplasmic blasts coming from four different Plasmius'. He was beginning to get exhausted, but the other was fuelled by his madness and wrath and didn't seem to be breaking a sweat.

The four Plasmius' shifted back into the original Plasmius and sent a huge ectoplasmic blast towards him. It reflected off Danny's shield and went straight back to Plasmius, smashing him into the wall. Danny yelled with the effort of keeping his shield up and nearly collapsed.

Plasmius stumbled, looking dizzy and weak. This was his chance.

"Sam!" he cried. Sam threw him the thermos and he caught it expertly.

"That thing looks familiar," he heard Jack mutter. He blushed slightly, struggling to open the thermos. Ember frowned at it.

"What does that do?"

"It'll capture him permanently. He won't escape. _Ever_," Danny said grimly. Ember paled and gasped.

"No, Danny, don't!" she cried, but he ignored her. She jumped forward, knocking the thermos out of his hand and giving Plasmius just enough time to recover. Danny cried out in surprise and anger.

"This isn't the end, Phantom!" Plasmius cried out, but he seemed to have decided against continuing the fight and he turned invisible, disappearing before anyone could say anything. There was a complete silence and Danny realized that the only people left were the Fentons, Sam, Tucker, Ember and himself. Everyone else had fled.

He turned to Ember, furious.

"Why did you do that? I nearly had him!" he snarled. Ember looked uncomfortable. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Tucker hurriedly pick up the thermos and put it away.

"I'm sorry, Danny, but I had to."

"Why? _Why?_" he snarled. "He's done nothing but make my life miserable. I nearly beat him until _you _interfered!"

"I can't tell you why. But if you'd captured him, you would have regretted it!" she shouted back.

"I _highly_ doubt that."

"Well, deal with it." And with that she flew off, leaving him confused and angry. He clenched his fists and groaned, frustrated beyond reason. Suddenly the door opened and a puzzled Vlad walked in.

He took in the scene with unmasked shock.

The hall was nearly empty, furniture destroyed and strewn everywhere and holes had been blasted in the walls, ceiling and ground. It was truly a mess. Danny quickly turned invisible, not wanting to risk his father seeing and recognizing him.

"What happened? Where the hell is everyone?" Danny left, too bitter to care about leaving Sam and Tucker to explain the events.

He just wanted to hide in a corner and mourn about his near victory.

00000

I know you're all eager to have the whole 'Danny finding out about Vlad being Plasmius and vice versa' but that's not coming in until later. I'll tell you now though that Danny will discover Vlad's true self in Chapter Thirteen. So you don't have long to wait.

I'm feeling pretty good with myself about getting the chapters updated much faster than before.

- Speeddemonrox


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Notes: **Answering the question posed by Luiz4200: Yes, Vlad would probably have asked Ember why she's constantly interfering in battles, but I doubt she'd actually tell him in order to save Danny's secret identity. She'd probably make up some excuse.

Chapter Twelve

"You _promised_!" Danny nearly screamed. Vlad sighed in annoyance, rubbing his forehead. The dark bruises under his eyes were more prominent than ever and he was slightly hunched, no longer standing tall and proud as before. It could all be traced back to the fact that he had not been sleeping very much. Danny had seen him working until early morning, talking down the phone and holding meetings with mysterious ghosts.

"That was _before _I found out that it started at eleven o' clock. I'm sorry, Danny, but you're not going to the damn carnival and that's final," he commanded, sitting up and storming out of the room before Danny could say anything. The next few seconds were silent as Danny nearly clenched his fists in frustration. It took all his effort not to punch the wall and instead settled for swearing.

_Damn it! Damn damn damn damn damn it! _

He cursed under his breath, slamming his fists onto the table. The phone rang, almost as if on cue. He ripped it off the hook and smashed it painfully against his ear.

"What?" he hissed, his irritation barely hidden.

"_Danny?" _The voice was tentative, and slightly scared. He forced himself to calm down, keeping his voice low and flat.

"Sam?"

"_They said 'no'!" _His control dropped.

"Yeah! My dad as well! It's not fair! I'm fourteen, not a baby! And the carnival's not gonna be here tomorrow!" Danny steamed, glaring furiously at the doorway that Vlad had just disappeared through. His face was scrunched up in a sulky pout that he was glad Sam couldn't see. "I can't believe this!"

"_I'm surprised _you _weren't allowed. I mean, you're the safest out of all of us, with your ghost powers and experience in ghost hunting." _

"Quiet, Sam!" he shushed, looking around nervously. There was no one in the room, but he glanced at the doorway, certain that someone would pop up and immediately interrogate him. His paranoia was stemmed from the close calls he'd had recently with some of his schoolmates and his father.

"_Why? It's not like he can hear me from here."_

"You'd be surprised. Dad has really good hearing. I can't risk him finding out about…you know. But enough of that. Think you can sneak out tonight?"

"_Duh. You know how early my parents sleep. They're morning people. One of the reasons I keep my doors locked at night. It's so irritating when they come barging in, complaining about the color of my walls and bed sheets and then running around the room opening the windows and-"_

"Yeah, Sam. I've heard it before," he said exasperatedly, but she had already begun to rant about her parents and their evil perkiness and love of sunshine and pretty things and so on. He felt a familiar warmth rise up as he listened to her voice and couldn't help but smile slightly. "Look, just…remember. Meet me at the entrance at eleven, okay?" He heard Sam sigh and he was willing to bet money that she was rolling her eyes right now.

"_Fine." _Then she hung up, leaving him staring at the phone.

That was strange. That weird warmth inside of him when he heard her speak.

He shrugged it off quickly and hung up the phone.

He was worried that his father would discover that he had gone to the carnival. It was a near certainty. His father had ghost minions everywhere, and one of them would most likely notice that Danny wasn't in his room.

Nosy little bastards.

But Danny would face whatever came. If his father grounded him for a year, he'd deal with it. Plus, it wasn't as if he couldn't sneak out using his ghost powers. His father wouldn't be able to stop him from using them. Probably because he didn't know about them. And Danny hoped it stayed that way for a long, long time.

00000

"Look at all the rides!" Sam shrieked uncharacteristically, dragging Danny and Tucker along. Tucker was too busy looking at the rows of prizes on the shelves and Danny was enthusiastically trying to free himself in order to buy cotton candy. "This place is amazing!" She shrieked with excitement once again and took off to the scariest ride.

Danny followed reluctantly, deciding to give up his dream of cotton candy. Perhaps it was better to eat after going on all the rides.

"Let's go to this one! No, wait, this one! Oh no, this one is so cool!" she screamed. For a second she seemed to be a shadow of her former self, the hyper little blonde. She looked excitedly at all the rides and then finally decided on the Ferris wheel. Tucker stared at her.

"The Ferris wheel? Why not one of the more exciting rides?" he whined.

"Because I want to see how big the carnival is. And you _always _have to go onto the Ferris wheel!" Sam said, pushing them into the queue, which was relatively small. Most of the people had gone for the more exciting rides, but Sam hated the longer queues.

They crowded into the Ferris Wheel, Sam staring out the window, eyes bugging out with amazement. Danny had never seen her so excited, not even when she was talking about how they should hold a protest against the companies that used animals to test make up, or how they should tie themselves to trees in order to stop people from cutting them down.

Danny snorted inwardly. As if he'd ever tie himself to a _tree_. The idea was laughable. A _tree_. Ha.

"Hey look, there's Dash and Kwan and Paulina," he pointed out, blushing slightly. He did think Paulina was _very _pretty. The Hispanic girl was currently tossing her hair around and smiling flirtatiously at the other two.

"Oh, who cares about them," Tucker said, waving his PDA in Danny's face. He shoved him away impatiently.

"Can't you get rid of that for a least ten seconds?" he grumbled.

"No way. This is my heart and my soul," he said, clutching to his chest. Danny rolled his eyes. "What's up with you? You're acting whiny. It's about your dad isn't it? You always act whiny when it's about your Dad."

"Well he's an evil bastard," he hissed.

"Dante Rio Masters!" Sam snapped furiously. He stared at her.

"Did you just middle name me?"

"Of course I did! You can't speak that way about your father! You're the one who's being a stubborn ass by always being cold towards him!" she scolded. He frowned. Why was she defending him? Unless…

"Oh please, you're only defending him because he donated nearly half a million dollars to Greenpeace," he said. It was true. Sam had been bugging everybody to donate money to Greenpeace in order to save endangered animals. She had especially focused on Vlad because he was so rich, and although it had amused the man in the beginning, after three days of her pestering he was so fed up he began to complain to Danny about his 'mildly overbearing and pushy friend'.

When Sam had come bounding into their house on the fourth day he'd ripped out a check, scribbled the first sum of money that jumped into his mind and handed it to her, forcing her to promise that she would never ever bother him again.

"Your father is a wise and caring man-"

"He only cared in order to shut you up," he retorted. She huffed angrily and crossed her arms, glaring at him. Her eyes were dark with irritation and the Gothic makeup didn't help matters.

"What's wrong this time? What did he do to piss you off?" Tucker asked curiously. Danny rubbed his eyes exasperatedly.

"Same old. He's never at home. Not that I mind that much, but when I ask him for help he tells me he's too busy. And I've seen this weird ghost hanging around lately. This bald, black guy with white symbols on his body. It's so weird, but I feel like he's important. And familiar. I think my dad hired him to do something. I'm not sure. But it's just weird, you know? Now that I think about it, a lot of the ghosts I've been fighting all know my dad."

"Well, didn't you tell us that your dad's cronies were almost all ghosts?"

"Yeah, they are. Skulker and Technus work for dad. They cause a hell of a load of trouble, but ever since they found out that I'm Vlad Masters' son it's like they're…careful. I never really paid attention to it before, but I've just noticed that most of them are connected to dad somehow. Even Ember does some errands for dad once in a while. They all know him…" he paused, and the other two looked at him curiously, the carnival long forgotten. "And Plasmius…"

"What about that jerk?" Sam spat, her obvious dislike for the power hungry ghost coloring her voice.

"I _know _he's connected to dad. I _know _it. But I just can't pinpoint how," he said, angrily banging his fist against the wall. His fists went straight through and he blinked in surprise. He hadn't lost control of his powers in quite a while. After all that training he was able to control his powers, but once in a while his emotions just broke that control and he found himself falling through floors unexpectedly.

"Are you sure? Maybe Plasmius is just one of those…loner ghosts, you know? No connections or anything? You might be over thinking this," Tucker reasoned. Danny shook his head.

"I've seen that guy with the symbols before. He looks so familiar. And I feel like he's connected to Plasmius. And my dad as well. I just…agh! It's so frustrating!" he cried, slamming his hand against the wall again.

The whole Ferris Wheel rocked violently to the side and the fell unceremoniously, Sam tumbling onto Tucker and Danny thwacking his head against the back of the seat. The Ferris Wheel heaved upwards and then back down. The sheer suddenness of the movement sent them flying sideways and they all screamed as the whole world seemed to rock and swirl. Danny felt his head swimming with confusion and dizziness and he tried to pull himself together but the movements were making him nauseous.

The contraption shuddered and then finally was still, leaving an ominous, tense silence as they waited for the next movement. Danny and Sam and Tucker stared at each other in complete shock, gasping for breath and unable to think clearly.

"Whoa…you must be stronger than you thought," Tucker joked breathlessly. Danny frowned. Something had been familiar about that situation. He struggled to stand on wobbling legs and leaned against the door of the shaking contraption. His eyes traveled to the bottom of the Ferris Wheel, where two very familiar ghosts were standing.

Oh, he remembered them clearly. The only two ghosts, besides Plasmius, he had never defeated. They had left a lasting impression despite only having fought him once, one that wouldn't fade away until he finally crushed them with his powers.

"It's _those _two. Edmund and Rosie," he snarled.

"I think it's Eduardo and Rosalie," Sam corrected. He sighed, exasperated. Okay, well maybe the 'lasting impression' hadn't made _that _much of an impact on him.

"Well, who cares? I don't need to know their names to hate them," he snapped. The Ferris Wheel rocked against, but this time it wasn't from an earthquake.

A lilting, sweet note tore through the air and sending them collapsing onto the ground, clutching the sides of their heads and screaming from the sheer agony of the single sound. The voice rose in pitch and Danny's squeezed his eyes shut as they stung with tears of pain that threatened to overflow. The voice itself was musical, beautifully wavering up and down and each note would have been beautiful if not for the havoc it caused on their delicate ears. But as it continued the voice became shrill and began to form a hellish scream that was even more agonizing.

Sam sobbed, a trickle of blood running down her upper lip. Danny turned into his ghost form and fell through the floor, flying unsteadily until he managed to get a good look at what was happening.

Eduardo and Rosalie were floating a few feet off the ground next to the Ferris Wheel, watching the crowd of people writhing pitifully on the ground. Rosalie had a looked of sheer joy on her face as she observed the people, fingers tapping her lush, pouting lips. Her partner looked bored, the cruel mouth of his pulled into a reluctant grimace. Danny floated towards them, intangible, and then froze.

Plasmius was there. And the black man with the white symbols. The black man was facing the Ferris Wheel, eyes closed and chanting loudly. His voice seemed to echo and it sounded as if hundreds of people were chanting together instead of just him. Plasmius was watching him, but occasionally glanced around to make sure there was no one to interrupt. He caught sight of Danny who was hovering dizzily and snarled with displeasure. He didn't attack though, simply flew up to where Danny was and faced him.

"Why, oh why must you _always _be around when I'm conducting a master plan?" he said dramatically, only half-mocking. Danny shrugged.

"Because it's my life's purpose to beat the crap out of you," he said.

"If my memory serves me well, you have yet to 'beat the crap out of me' as you so elegantly put it. Unfortunately for you I'm simply stronger, faster and more intelligent."

"More arrogant too," he quipped cheerfully once the world had stopped spinning. Plasmius scowled irritably, then gazed down at Magik. "I'm going to stop whatever stupid plan you've got going right now." And he shot forward, but Plasmius simply dodged him, looking amused.

"I wouldn't do that, Phantom. If you interrupt Magik, you will be unleashing all chaos onto Amity Park. You don't want that, do you?" he asked innocently. Danny paused, unsure as to whether he was faking or telling the truth.

"And why will that be?" he asked.

"You see, Magik is conducting a spell that will release the Titans from the prison that has held them for centuries. And in this spell, he releases them, and then puts a spell in order to allow me to control them. Necessary, because if not, they would have free reign. And they _are_ known as the Gods of Destruction, or the Titans, so giving them free reign would not be in your best interests," he said calmly, though he was constantly glancing at the black man.

"So, either I let you have complete control over a bunch of psycho ghosts and destroy Amity Park or I let _them_ destroy Amity Park," Danny said dryly. Plasmius' smirk froze on his face as Danny scoffed. "Nice try, but I think that if I had to choose…"

And he sent an ectoplasmic blast towards Magik, who was too caught up in the spell to notice.

"No, you fool!" Plasmius cried, but he was too late. The blast grazed Magik, who had jumped back just in time, but the spell was interrupted.

The ground under the Ferris Wheel, which was heaving upwards – and not because of Eduardo, Danny assumed – cracked and shuddered. The people inside the Ferris Wheel screamed as it tilted sideways, metal clanging loudly. Danny hesitated, realizing with cold shock that Sam and Tucker were still inside.

"Damn!" he groaned. The earth was still shaking, trembling, roaring and a white light burst from the cracks in the ground. Screams burst from the holes and, with a growing, sickened horror, Danny watched as a pale, bony hand peeked through the cracks and grasped the edge of the earth. An inhuman shriek was emitted and more hands scrabbled at the broken ground.

"_Close the gate! Magik, close the damn gate!" _Plasmius was screaming. The ghost, stunned from Danny's attack, swayed and began to chant with a shaky voice, gesturing grandly. Danny wondered if his attack had been wise.

"What the hell are those?" he cried, pointing to the hands. The crack was slowly closing, forced shut and the hands were pulled back inside. Angry howls pierced the air, even louder than the screams of the people running around below. The panicked men and women and children were running around, as far away from the Wheel as possible while the police tried to keep everyone in order. They were failing miserably and as they caught sight of the huge, jagged scar in the ground they faltered and took off along with the ground.

"Those are the Titans, and a few minor ghosts also imprisoned within," Plasmius snarled through gritted teeth. "And you nearly freed them!" He swung at Danny furiously and he was sent flying back, jaw throbbing.

"_Me? _You and that Magik _moron _were the ones trying to open the gate!" he retorted. Plasmius was too angry too answer. Eduardo and Rosalie floated behind the older ghost, watching, stunned and confused.

"Plasmius, what do we do now?" Eduardo asked, his voice cold and soft.

"We retreat." And he was gone, his two cronies beside him. Danny snorted and began to fly towards where Sam and Tucker were.

He would have to keep an eye out for Plasmius, deliberately seek him out to make sure he wasn't trying to release the – what was it, Titans?

He sighed wearily, wondering when the hell he'd finally get a break and just have some _fun_.

00000

"You're ill."

"No I'm not."

"You're shaking, you're shivering and you have a fever. Not to mention you've puked three times already."

"No I haven't. I'm not sick."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm _not_."

But Danny was sick. He was pale, clammy and sweating and wrapped in a jumper that was twice his size. His mouth tasted disgusting and was burning painfully. He had never felt so sick in his life, but he didn't want to go home.

"I _have _to finish my homework," he whined. But the truth was he just didn't want to admit he was sick. Danny Masters did _not _get sick. He fought evil ghosts and once in a while got a few bruises and minor cuts, but he didn't get sick. Jazz snorted impatiently and began to pack up his things, stuffing them into his bag.

"This is useless. We're not going to get anything done if you're sick. I'm sending you home," she said. "And don't bother me with petty arguments. You're sick, and I say you're going home." Her tone implied it was final and Danny relented, not feeling well enough to retort. He stumbled out of the chair, feeling nauseous and tired. His legs trembled under his weight and he felt what was left of his lunch churning in his stomach. Jazz caught him and helped him out the door. "I'll get my dad to drive you back."

"No, it's fine. Dad was going to pick me up anyway. I can ask him to pick me up a little earlier," he mumbled, fiddling with his cell phone. Jazz watched as he called his dad and then sat down on the ground, sighing in relief as the queasy feeling subsided. She sat next to him, still fretting in a motherly sort of way.

"_No _ghost hunting this week, okay? You'll just get even sicker and it won't do you any good," she ordered.

"I highly doubt I can kick any ghost's butt in this condition. Even the Box Ghost could beat the crap out of me like this," he moaned.

"Why _do _you even continue ghost hunting? If you gave it up you could concentrate on your schoolwork and lead a regular life."

"Yeah, but _someone _has to stop the ghosts."

"But why does it have to be you? Why can't it be someone else?" Jazz reasoned.

"Know anyone else with the ability to transform into a ghost at will?" he asked dryly, then slowly stood up. "My ride's here." He smiled gratefully at Jazz. "Thanks for trying, though."

"Yeah, well…goodbye Danny and _get some rest_."

Danny collapsed in the backseat of the car, exhausted. Vlad, who was sitting next to the driver, turned to look at him, concerned. "You look _terrible_."

"Thanks, Dad. It's just the flu. It's not the sickest I've been; it's no big deal," he said, wincing at the nasally sound of his voice. Vlad nodded thoughtfully.

"I guess that's true. I mean, there was that time you got food poisoning from that seafood I warned you not to eat," he pondered. Danny rolled his eyes, feeling nauseated as the car began to speed down the road. He was never car sick, but right now even the slightest movement made him want to puke. "Or that time the cook left that salad on the shelf for a day and then served it to us. Even _I _got sick from that one. Or how about the time-"

"_Dad!_" Danny snapped. The memories weren't making him feel any better. The amused look slipped off Vlad's face and was replaced by a serious one.

"I know, I'm sorry. I'll let you get some rest. Good thing today's Friday, or you'd miss out even more on school."

"Wouldn't that be a tragedy?" Danny grumbled. Vlad snickered as they arrived at their house.

He helped Danny to his room, occasionally stopping at a bathroom in order to let Danny empty his stomach. Danny felt grateful for once that Vlad wasn't busy; it meant that he wasn't constantly rushing off or dumping him with the maid. He even attempted to make a hot sup for Danny, and after three tries Danny finally managed to keep down some of the food before flopping back onto the bed. They talked, swapping stories and laughing hysterically at the funnier memories.

Danny was always very careful when talking to his father. Unlike with his friends, he couldn't just blurt out the first thing that came to mind. He had to make sure he gave nothing away and he was also very careful about not mentioning the carnival. He didn't want his father to know that:

he was a half-human, half-ghost hybrid

he had gone to the carnival without permission and seen Magik working for Plasmius

He deduced that Magik was connected to both Plasmius and his dad. Which meant that Vlad must be connected to Plasmius. But _how_? Did Plasmius work for Vlad, or was it the other way around? Or were they working together? Frustrated he waited until his dad had left before slamming his hand against the wall.

"Damn it! All these stupid puzzles and ghosts and spells. What the hell are the Titans?" he hissed, his vision swimming. He sat on his bed, trying to think, but his mind was fuzzy and once again his stomach lurched painfully. He stumbled towards his bathroom, then stopped, remembering that the toilet wasn't working.

Instead he tottered out into the hall and went to the bathroom next to his father's study. As he passed the half-open door he could hear Vlad talking to someone, his voice angry and bitter:

"…Phantom appeared at the…"

"He interrupted the spell."

He stopped, crouching next to the door, intent on hearing this. The voice was deep, with a hint of an accent. He frowned, peering through the crack, the his eyes widened with surprise.

It was Magik, floating a few centimeters above the ground and speaking to Vlad, who was leaning against the table. He was scowling furiously, the white symbols on his body glowing dimly.

"Yes," Vlad said. "Once again, he's interfered with my plans. I'm getting a little tired of him, and I plan to get rid of him as soon as possible." Danny frowned. _Vlad's _plans? Did that mean that Magik, Plasmius, Eduardo and Rosalie worked for Vlad? They were most likely talking about the incident at the carnival, but Danny had never imagined his father was behind _that_.

"I can put a spell on him, to-"

"No. I wish to deal with Phantom on my own. I want the satisfaction of crushing him," Vlad stated simply. "But back to more important matters, we have the problem of the Titans. Did you manage to reseal the gate?"

"Yes. Thankfully I managed to close the gate before they escaped, but it was a close call. If Phantom's attack had hit me dead-on I would have been too weak to perform the counter spell, but the Titans are still safely under lock and key."

"Not for long," Vlad chuckled. "In a few days we shall attempt to open the gate again. I'll bring Eduardo and Rosalie and warn them to keep a lookout for Phantom. So far they are my most powerful associates and I plan to make full use of them."

"When I chant the second spell, remember, you must be present. If Phantom arrives, you cannot be distracted by him. Let the other two take care of him. This is much more important than you little rivalry, and if you are not present I will not be able to complete the spell and-"

"Yeah, I get it, the whole world will be in chaos."

"The Titans have abilities beyond my own, and I will not be able to help much if they are not controlled," Magik warned. "I will leave now. I need to replenish my strength." Vlad nodded.

"I need to contact Eduardo and Rosalie. They will reach you when I have figured out what date we shall carry out the plan," he said.

Danny's head was whirling with all this new information, and the dizziness wasn't making it any better, but what happened next shocked him to the very core and made his insides freeze until he felt like someone was gripping him tightly, paralyzing him.

Two black rings appeared around Vlad's midsection and traveled upwards, revealing a very familiar person.

_Plasmius_.

And suddenly everything made sense again. But despite the frustration of his confusion and ignorance, Danny suddenly wished that the truth had never been revealed to him. He wished he had remained completely oblivious, unaware of the true identity of his father and of the ghost that plagued his daily life.

Plasmius had tried to kill him.

His _father _had tried to kill him.

As Vlad – or Plasmius – and Magik flew out of the room through the roof he stood there, completely unable to move. He felt numb, slightly cold as a chilly silence fell on him. He didn't know what to do, what to think.

Then a wave of queasiness slammed into his gut like a punch and he bent over, suddenly reminded of why he'd even come into the hallway in the first place. He staggered drunkenly to the bathroom, heaving and gagging, suddenly plagued by more than just the flu.

He had never realized that all the while, when he had been fighting Plasmius, he had been fighting his father. His father was a half-human, half-ghost hybrid who was planning on unleashing powerful 'Gods of Destruction' and using them to take over Amity Park, and possibly the world. His father was a merciless, tyrannical ghost who crushed those that got in his way and used dangerous spiritual henchmen in order to get what he wanted.

In his state, it was too much for him to handle and he collapsed onto the floor of the bathroom and remained there for the rest of the day.

00000

And once again, I apologize profusely for taking _so _long to update. Hopefully, since it is almost the summer holidays I will have more time to write.

I know I said Danny will discover Vlad's identity in chapter thirteen but I guess I felt bad for making you wait so long.

Please review, I value your opinions

- Speeddemonrox


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